Rurouni Hakusho
by QuartzFox
Summary: There's a new man in town…  And he's not fooling around.  Unfortunately, he aims to be more than a little problematic for the denizens of Hell.   Koenma's got to come up with a plan to stop Shishio Makoto before he gets there – and quick!
1. Chapter 1

_[AN] There is so much potential for some interesting plot crossovers, at the risk of playing a little loose with some of the details… Something like this seemed almost too obvious - at least to my twisted mind. _

_To those of you who have been waiting patiently, my thanks; I have been having login issues and reality issues and so the going has been slow - but the wait is over and I hope from now on to be on my one-chapter-per-week update schedule. __I do hope you enjoy, and share._

_Any errors, OOCness, or other similar issues are mine. [/AN]_

**Prologue: An Unexpected Return**

The cloaked figure made its way across the plane in silence. No one marked its passage until it paused in the doorway of the large room and lifted its hood. The cloak shifted back from its shoulders, proving in fact to be wings of the same hue as his hair. The digits at the apex of each released one another and he stretched them, the thin leathery skin making a soft whispery noise with the motion.

His limbs seemed a little too long for his slight body. Long hair the color of dried blood hung limply around his face, the length of it tied back in a high ponytail. But the slight figure's eyes were blazing orbs without pupils, windows to a bottomless, flaming pit.

Movement stopped. Whispers of, "It's him!" and similar statements susurrated swiftly across the floor, carrying to the desk in the center. "He's here, he's back. That was fast. He's returned…"

"Chiryuu." The voice from behind the desk was soft, youthful; the tone surprised. "You're back much sooner than we expected."

"Hai." The demon moved toward the desk as activity resumed hesitantly around him. Those nearest him skirted him gingerly. "The human Himura Kenshin has conquered me and cast me out. I was able to impart a great deal to him, however. I do not doubt he will succeed at his part of the task." His voice was little more than a sibilant hiss, deep and throaty.

"Hm. Well, that part's good anyway," Koenma said, poking his head out from among the stacks of paperwork. "You left him able to bind up Shishio Makoto?"

The shadowed brow furrowed. "That is the only remaining dilemma. He will be able to defeat Shishio easily if there is no interference, thanks to the sword style I created during the Sengoku era. But as for binding his soul, there are no humans I encountered currently capable. Chiokami is too tightly intertwined with the soul he has possessed. The human Saitou Hajime refuses to believe in such things as demons; there is no way the Blood Wolf within him would be able to bind up Shishio Makoto's soul."

"And none of the other Blood Demons were bound within the appropriate period... Damn. We'll have to wait until he gets here then. That's going to be tricky," the young prince of the Spirit Realm grumbled. Raising his voice, he called out, "Ayame!"

"Yes, your majesty?" She appeared in moments. "Oh, you're back!" she said, stumbling as she saw the newcomer.

"Everyone seems_ so_ happy to see me," he said darkly.

She laughed nervously. "Well, it's simply…"

"Never mind all that," Koenma cut them off. "We're going to have a problem. And I think we're going to need the humans' help. Quickly, Chiryuu, tell me everything you can about this Himura and his friends."

"He has gathered many loyal people around him in an exceedingly short time. I do not understand it, as I have been largely dormant these last months. With his stupid oath not to kill, he makes no sense to me.

"Most notable among his friends is the fighter, Sagara Sanosuke, who is a loose cannon but fierce and devoted. There is a young boy, too, who would do well in my hands if he were not so intent on following the human's footsteps in refusing to kill. His name is Myoujin Yahiko. Still, he is but a boy, scarcely older than Himura was when I came to him in the field of death. He may have another ally, in the near future, but I cannot predict the outcome of that confrontation... The name of that man is Shinomori Aoshi, and he is an impressive fighter. It is possible that he has been improving his skills still further, which would render him quite a formidable opponent indeed. There are two women, as well: a swordswoman in training by the name of Kamiya Kaoru, and a healer called Takani Megumi. Her facility with pharmaceuticals is impressive. I mind me of a certain Youko who would doubtless spend many happy hours discussing the various properties of plants with her; she is also rumored to have some Kitsune blood in her veins. The swordswoman is competent, and she loves Himura Kenshin, who is not averse to her affections. Their bond is… troubling to me." His wings shifted, spreading slightly before settling back in their resting position.

"Why is that?" Ayame asked.

"I do not understand this _love_ that humans have for one another. One such as I can only understand death, and desire, and destruction. But then, it is for Himura Kenshin to understand love, and not the likes of me."

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Chiryuusan," the elegant ferrywoman said, still perched on her oar. She was fairly new to the Spirit Realm and still had much idealism left in her soul.

"You guys can get philosophical later. Right now we have to prepare. The Spirit Realm is about to be invaded and it better not get to the point where my father has to deal with it," Koenma said bluntly.

"Invaded?" Ayame gasped.

"Yeah. You remember the reason Chiryuu went to Himura in the first place, right?" At Ayame's nod, Koenma continued. "Well, Himura was able to conquer the side of himself he considered to be simply his darker inclinations. The problem is that it wasn't simply a personality aspect. Chiryuu was able to leave enough of his essence for Himura to keep the strength and skills necessary for some time yet, but the youki was cast out. What he doesn't know yet is that casting out the youko altogether is going to take more out of him than just the dark mentality." He made a face. "Unfortunately, the spirit-binding has to be done by a youko in conjunction with a human who can align their reiki. And it can't be done by working in tandem, either; the youko needs to be completely bound with the human's spirit. Now, there's no one available to bind the soul of Shishio Makoto before he dies."

"And if he fails in his plan to conquer Japan, it's we who are in trouble," she finished slowly.

"Assemble a team. We're going to need this Himura and his friends once their fight is over. He'll have to fight Shishio twice." Koenma looked less than happy about the prospect of recruiting a team of nothing but humans. Although, as close as that Himura had come to dying a few times… But no; if he had an oath not to kill, he would not be eligible for the idea that Koenma had begun to contemplate recently. No, there simply were no candidates since that Kiyosato boy had declined the honor – and he had been killed, with what Chiryuu called delicious irony, by Chiryuu's own blade. Besides, the whole spirit detective thing wasn't ironed out yet; it would need a few dozen more years' worth of polishing before he could present the idea to his father, the true lord of the spirit realm.

"There is one difference," Chiryuu said, interrupting the young lord's thoughts. "The second time around, he will not be fighting alone." Wings like the blood of the dying spread wide above the slight body; the slim features seeming diminished by the promise of suffering inherent in the grin spreading across them.

_[AN] Yeah. I went there. Chiryuu (written with the kanji for "Blood" and "Dragon", naturally) is the reason Kenshin became known as the Demon of Kyoto. It is his flame-filled eyes that turned Kenshin's to amber. It was he who possessed the first Hiko Seijuurou to create the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. Quite a busybody, isn't he… And he's not done yet. _

_Not by a long shot. _

_But do not be confused; Chiryuu is NOT Battousai. The personality known as Battousai is not a separate entity, but the adaptations Kenshin made while being influenced by the youko within. And yes, Chiokami – Blood Wolf – is on a par with his fellow Blood Demon. _

_Now, because this takes place long before Hiei's birth, or Minamino Shuichi's, or Urameshi Yuusuke's for that matter, I can't promise that they'll appear. In fact, the chances are low. However, anything can happen...[/AN]_


	2. Chapter 2

**Part I: The End of the Beginning**

Hours after she got the message telling her that they had all survived Shishio's defeat but that Kenshin and Yahiko especially were still in very bad shape, Megumi's bags were packed – mostly with medical supplies – and she was on her way to Kyoto. The trip was mercifully swift and uneventful, although it gave her too much time to think.

The message had arrived three days after the battle had taken place, and traveling by swift carriage could get her there in two days; she knew she couldn't afford to waste any time. Whatever injuries her friends had sustained – whatever injuries Kenshin had sustained – were bound to be insufficiently treated by some quack up in Kyoto.

When she arrived, she was surprised to see that, while Kenshin and Yahiko were still unconscious, their injuries were treated competently enough for the duration, but she took no rest until she had stitched up every large cut on each of them, nearly collapsing with exhaustion just before dawn.

Nor was she the only one to have dropped off; during the night, the others had also succumbed. Scattered around the room, they all lay in sleep as silent as death. Misao had gone to her own bed, but Sanosuke, Kaoru, and Aoshi had stayed with her, assisting when they could, until fatigue claimed them.

.:|:.

It seemed only a few minutes later that Megumi opened her eyes and sat up. After a brief moment, she shifted position, pulling her kimono to cover herself more decorously. Looking around, she saw five familiar figures, each sprawled rather ungracefully and in various stages of regaining awareness. "What just happened?"

"I'm not precisely sure what's going on," Kaoru said uncertainly as she sat up. "Only... Something tells me we're not exactly in Kyoto."

"Y'think?" Sano sat up, rubbing the back of his head and flinching. "Damn. That hurt."

"Oro?" The voice was barely a whisper.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru struggled to stand, staggering dizzily. Megumi, who had landed closer, got to him first.

"Kensan, be very careful," she said, supporting his head almost as though he were an infant.

"Something tells me there's a lot more going on than we understand," said another man's voice. Shinomori Aoshi rose in one fluid motion. "I suspect we have come to this... place through means other than physical."

"What're you talkin' about?" Sanosuke growled as he too stood up, though not so gracefully.

"Who cares?" Yahiko said, the last of them to move. "Just make the headache stop."

"Yahiko has the best idea this one has heard," Kenshin muttered.

"Here, Kensan," Megumi said. "Rest here and I'll take away your pain." As she spoke, she had wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head to nestle on her own chest.

"Oro!"

"Megumi!" Kaoru seemed not to notice any headache at all. "Let go of him! You... you... VIXEN!"

"Did someone say vixen?" inquired another voice. The six of them looked up to see another figure entering the cavern. He was quite tall, and definitely male. At least as sculpted as any of the other four, he towered over even Aoshi. He seemed almost to glow, although clad in white as he was, with silvery hair and tail and ears...

~Hair and tail and ears?~ Sano shook his head, rubbing his eyes. ~Yep. Hair and tail and ears.~ "Oiy, Kitsune, he looks like your type," he smirked, looking at Megumi.

Arms still around Kenshin, she looked as though she'd almost forgotten the redhead as she stared in unabashed admiration at the vision before them.

"And how," Kaoru breathed, equally fascinated, ignoring the flush of her own cheeks.

"You are?" Aoshi was clearly unimpressed. One hand moving to touch the hilt of his kodachi, he glared at the newcomer.

"I'd ask your forgiveness, but I can't really say I care," the vision of masculinity said. "I am the notorious Youko Kurama. There are those who say I'm the epitome of evil, coldhearted and cruel." He shrugged with a nonchalant smile. "I suppose it's true enough."

Kenshin pushed Megumi's arms away and began to rise cautiously; Sano and Aoshi had already moved forward in defensive stances.

The youko waved a hand dismissively. "You pathetic humans wouldn't stand a chance against me, so don't bother. I was sent a message that you would be here, and that I was to... assist you with medicines and such." He sounded more amused at the idea of helping someone than anything else. "One of you is a healer?"

"I... I am a doctor," Megumi said slowly as she stood.

Kurama eyed her appraisingly. "Not bad... for a human. Why do they call you Kitsune?" Before any of them could blink, he was towering over her.

"He's... He's SNIFFING her!" Kaoru whispered in outrage, belatedly trying to cover Yahiko's eyes.

"What's the matter, jouchan, jealous?" Sanosuke sounded even less amused than Kaoru, for all his apparent flippancy.

"He did say you might have some Kitsune in you..." He inhaled deeply. "Huh. Interesting..." The thoughtful expression on the youko's face turned to a grin that looked oddly familiar to the four friends. Less so to Aoshi, for that worthy had had little chance to see Megumi's fox-grin, but the others all felt a chill. "Would you like some?"

Sano started to move forward, outrage clear on his face. "Who do you think you are, talkin' that way to a woman?"

If Aoshi had moved with fluid grace when he stood, the silvery figure's motion made the young okashira look gawky and underdeveloped. "Really?"

"Sano," Kenshin's voice cut through his friend's ire. "Forgive us," he said with a bow to the looming figure. "Clearly, we are strangers here. Wherever here is, and why we are all here, is not yet known." Yet the glance he gave the demon clearly indicated his readiness to defend the honor of his friends.

"Allow me to explain," said a youthful voice from behind him. Startled, Kenshin turned - he hadn't heard anyone come up behind him. Now all six of the humans gaped, for before them floated what looked like a toddler. Clad mostly in unfamiliar clothing of red and blue, he floated comfortably a little higher than Kenshin's head.

"Oro!"

"No, I'm King Enma's son. Some of the wits around here call me 'Koenma'." The kid looked less than impressed, Kaoru thought, although it was a little hard to tell on those young features with that pacifier in his mouth.

"Ko..enma...dono..." Kenshin bowed, not knowing what else to do. Aoshi followed suit, then Kaoru. She pushed Yahiko's head down, forcing him into a bow as well. Sano's own gesture seemed a little half-hearted, but the young son of the Lord of the Underworld didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, sure, and you're Himura Kenshin, Sagara Sanosuke, Shinomori Aoshi, Myoujin Yahiko, Kamiya Kaoru, and Takani Megumi." The diminutive figure rattled off their names easily. "And you've already met Kurama. Remember your promise, fox-demon," Koenma said. Yahiko was impressed with how much threat could be compressed into such a little kid's voice and resolved to learn the trick.

"I remember," Kurama said dryly.

"Fox...demon?" Yahiko looked up at the floating kid, and then at the towering, tailed man, who hadn't backed off from Megumi in the slightest. "Wait, as in... DEMON?"

"Yes, as in demon. And probably less of a pain in the neck than Shishio Makoto is about to be," Koenma said dismissively.

"Shishio Makoto?" Sano echoed.

"Yes, you idiot," Megumi said cuttingly. "The man you just fought."

"But he was destroyed," Yahiko said in bewilderment.

"On the human plane, yes. But because of you, we have a problem." Koenma pointed squarely at Kenshin.

"This one?"

"Not a very smart bunch, are they," Koenma muttered to himself on the side. Kurama snickered.

"Consider our situation," Aoshi pointed out acerbically.

"True, there is that. I suppose I'm doing this all out of order. I'll start by saying, 'Welcome to the spirit realm. I'm King Enma's son, Enma Jr.'" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, wait, that's already how I did it. Anyway, you're here by special invitation. Your bodies are still in the human realm, which is one of the reasons that you are conscious," he said, pointing at Kenshin again. "And if you think about it you'll realize that your injuries don't exist here."

The humans looked surprised to realize that what he said was true: all the injuries they'd sustained in their battle against Shishio and his followers might never have happened.

"Will our bodies be adversely affected?"

Koenma shrugged. "Arrangements have been made. You can stay for as long as a month without your bodies taking too much damage. After that you'll have to return to them, or you'll never be able to."

"A month?"

Koenma nodded. "A month should be more than enough time to figure a way around the little problem you caused."

"What problem would that be?" Sano said, clearly itching for the calming release of a physical confrontation.

"He got rid of me," came a sibilant voice from the entrance behind Kurama.

Chiryuu stepped out from behind the fox-demon and spread his wings slightly. The Blood Demon smiled at Kenshin. "Miss me, soul-sib?"

The others felt a chill of fear as they looked at the newcomer, which intensified as they looked to their friend. Himura Kenshin had gone pale, paler even than his physical body in its healing coma.

"But… How..."

It was Kurama who answered, a cool smile under his hooded eyes. "Himura Kenshin, meet the demon behind the Demon of Kyoto. The Blood Dragon."

_[AN] Yes, I know at this point Kenshin hadn't said anything specific to his friends about his past yet… Here is where it gets interesting. [/AN]_


	3. Chapter 3

**Part II: Out of the Frying Pan…**

Kenshin's thoughts were as chaotic as the Bakumatsu itself. The winged creature watched him, grinning hungrily, knowing the turmoil his appearance had caused.

"Yes, Himurasan, there's a lot more to that story than even you knew."

"This one's past…" Kenshin's eyes darted guiltily around the chamber.

"Kenshin," Kaoru said a little tightly, "We don't care about your past, remember? And besides, I think there are other things that are a little more immediate going on," she added with a significant glance in the demons' direction.

Megumi said in a softer tone, "We trust you. Just as you placed your trust so firmly in us."

"What they said," Sano agreed a moment later as Yahiko nodded. Even Aoshi seemed to concede the point.

"Touching," Chiryuu hissed with amusement. "Now will you stop angsting long enough to listen to Koenmasama? There's a lot more going on than you think."

"This one is not angsting," Kenshin said almost petulantly. Oddly, there was something about this strange demon, which looked so like himself and brought back so many chilling memories, that reminded him mostly of his Shishou.

"Please. I've been inside your head. You've done nothing BUT angst," the demon scoffed, unamused. "You are one big giant flaming ball of ceaseless angst. Which is pretty impressive, considering how slight your body is."

Koenma cleared his throat, at which Kenshin's bristling eased up slightly and the Blood Demon was silenced for the moment. "Chiryuu was sent after a particular human, after we became aware of him but before he became troublesome. Your circumstances were unusual but ideal for a soul bond to be formed. The purpose was to prevent _that human's_ spirit from being set free. Upon his death, he SHOULD have been bound up with human and demon magic... But you excised the demon. When you 'conquered' the part of yourself you thought of as Battousai, one of two things should have happened. You should have been able to integrate the soul bond cleanly. But you did just the opposite."

"That's our Kenshin, makin' things harder for the other guy.".

The "oro" that followed Sanosuke's smirking statement came out closer to a growl.

"Somehow, you were able to exorcise Chiryuu from your own spirit. Because of that, instead of you being able to bind the soul of Shishio Makoto upon his death, he's been unleashed, and he plans to try to usurp my dad's throne as Lord of the Underworld."

For a pudgy little kid, he looked rather frightening when he was genuinely angry.

Kenshin's own irritation had dissolved, and he was genuinely contrite. "Forgive this one. It was not known –"

"Of course not. I'm not mad at you. Actually I'm pretty impressed. It takes some doing to dislodge an unwilling demon from a human soul… Most people can't accomplish it independently." His gaze flickered briefly to Aoshi, then returned to Kenshin. "More often than not, the bond is integrated and the two souls basically merge – not into a blended whole, but… Well, no matter. I'm just annoyed that Shishio's a problem for us now. It isn't as if you can just march up to him together and take him out. It'll probably be another battle."

"Another fight against Shishio?"

Kaoru knocked Yahiko over the head with her bokken. "Don't look so happy about it, you dumb kid! Look what he did to Kenshin!"

Aoshi looked mildly uncomfortable, Megumi noted with surprise, which meant he must be feeling REALLY awkward… "Shishio Makoto is not solely responsible for his condition," he said softly. "It was not the first battle he fought that day."

"I'll say," Sano agreed, looking none too happy with the onmitsu. "Before he fought Shishio, he had a tough match with that Seta guy. And before that Seta guy, THIS jerk whaled on him but good."

Both women turned on Kenshin and Aoshi, who were making attempts at looking innocent and nonchalant, respectively.

"This one made a promise," Kenshin said. He was not quite succeeding at looking innocent.

"He did," Aoshi affirmed, looking completely nonchalant.

"Would you rather this one didn't keep his promises?" Panic colored his voice noticeably as he backed away from the advancing Kaoru, hands up in a futile attempt to placate her.

"I don't think that's the point," Megumi said, looking more than ready to inflict some pain of her own. "And besides, Kaoruchan, don't you think you ought to direct your anger at the one who injured Kensan?"

"You may be right, Megumisan..." Kaoru turned to glare at Aoshi, who still seemed unruffled. The steam seemed to go out of the young sensei. "Only... He's a lot scarier-looking than Kenshin." She seemed to have momentarily put his "Battousai moments" out of her mind.

"With good reason," Aoshi said mildly over the redhead's disgruntled "oro".

Koenma cleared his throat again. "Are you all quite done yet?"

The humans responded with varying levels of contrition.

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying, Chiryuu was sent to soul-bond with you because Chiokami's soul-bond worked a little TOO well, but the human with whom he was bonded doesn't really believe in such things as the spirit world." Koenma was back to looking annoyed. "So while he was present for the demise of Shishio on the human plane, he was not able to perform the binding. As soon as we realized that was likely to be the case, Chiryuu was sent."

"Chiokami… Another demon was present?" Kenshin's eyes glanced almost dismissively at Sanosuke, flickering immediately to Aoshi for a lingering moment, then returned to Koenma in confusion.

"The human known as Saitou Hajime shares his soul with the Blood Wolf Demon."

"A demon, huh? I could believe that of him… But wait, isn't he dead?" Sanosuke's amusement turned rapidly to skepticism, then anger as the implications set in.

Koenma locked eyes with him. "Don't think about it."

Sanosuke blinked a few times, looking as though he was trying to remember something, then shook his head slowly.

"How…" Megumi began to ask but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't ask. Even if you were capable, do you really think he would tell you?"

"I suppose not…"

"If it makes you feel better," the fox demon added with a wicked grin, "I don't doubt that he'll do the same to all of you before you return to the human plane, to avoid any messy complications."

"That does not make me feel better," Kaoru interjected.

"Can this group ever stay on topic?" Koenma wondered aloud, eyes raised in what might be considered heavenward.

"Sorry."

Although he looked as though he didn't believe Kaoru's apology, Koenma resumed his narrative. "Chiryuu bonded with you under the assumption that, since it didn't seem likely that Chiokami would be able to bind up the soul of Shishio Makoto, he would be able to do so. I knew I should have sent Chihyou sooner," he added in a mutter with an unreadable glance in Aoshi's direction. "It would have been easy, but the timing was too close… Not like it would have made much of a difference." Sighing, he turned back to Kenshin. "Only, you purged him completely and so no one was able to keep Shishio Makoto from coming in under his own power… And he wants to do here what he wanted to do there. He wants to take over."

"Why should that be our problem?"

Koenma gave Sanosuke a "You've got to be kidding" look, but it was Yahiko who answered, to the surprise of the others.

"He was bad enough tryin' to rule Japan. Do you think he'd be any less nasty with _demons_ under his rule?"

"While it's fairly obvious that the others are here to fight," Megumi said abruptly, "what can I do? As much as I'd love to personally inflict a hundred times as many wounds as he gave Kensan, I know I won't be much good in a direct conflict with that guy."

"Which is part of where I come in. I'm going to show you a few things about herbology on the demon plane," Kurama said, his hand still on Megumi's shoulder. "There are some plants that have more than simply medicinal uses, things that can be used to trap even the soul of a human. Let me show you my garden?"

Kenshin and Sanosuke exchanged uneasy glances. The towering youko was smooth. His shining countenance was certainly no disguise for his silver tongue. Megumi seemed to be buying it hook, line, and sinker, jud ging by the demure pose and flirtatious glances she was sending his way. Kenshin then glanced at Kaoru, who looked ready to blow a gasket.

"What are you implying, _Megumisan_?"

Startled, Megumi looked at Kaoru. "Implying?"

"By saying it's obvious the rest of us are here to fight?"

Megumi stared in disbelief at Kaoru. "Why are you taking _that_ as an insult?"

She didn't miss the way Kaoru's eyes darted almost guiltily towards the youko Kitsune with his hand on her shoulder – was it again or still? – and then Kenshin.

Megumi sighed. "Kaoruchan, you should not take it badly when someone compliments you on a skill you have worked very hard to attain. Saying you can fight on a level with the likes of Kensan and Shinomorisan might be something of a stretch, but the tori-atama would probably be hard pressed to beat you, and Yahikokun is your student altogether."

"That's true…" She didn't look very impressed. Neither did Sanosuke, but for once he said nothing.

"What Megumidono is trying to say is that you are very skilled in an area in which she is not, and it's no bad thing. Her concern is with what she can accomplish as a noncombatant. This one believes she is feeling left out," Kenshin tried for diplomacy.

"Don't worry," Kurama said in a tone and with an expression that did not reassure anyone, though for varying reasons. "I'll make sure she's made quite comfortable."

"Shall we go to your garden then, Kuramasan?" Megumi said, a little of the edge still in her voice.

He nodded and did… something none of them saw, and suddenly he had a gorgeous spread of butterfly wings as silvery as he was.

"What – how – Can I come too? I GOTTA learn how to do that!" Yahiko seemed especially intrigued by the wings, although Megumi was not to learn until later why that might be. After hearing about his battle against Henya, the emaciated man who had taken to the skies as his preferred medium for a fight, it would make more sense to her.

"It's just a matter of knowing the right plants," Kurama replied with a casual smile. "Shall we, my lady?" He lifted Megumi almost effortlessly and was airborne with a short running start. His silver hair danced in the wind, entangling with her own black tresses as they flew off into the distance.

"Well, good, now that he's out of the way for the time being," Koenma sighed, looking oddly relieved, "the rest of us can get down to business."

"Oro?"

Red-faced, Kaoru glared at the prince of the afterworld. "But she's all alone with him!"

"Stop fretting. Kurama's under strict orders. He's not going to do anything to your friend," Koenma assured a fuming Kaoru. "Harmful or otherwise. And he doesn't eat humans anymore, anyway." Chiryuu made a snickering noise but was promptly quelled by a sharp glance from the little prince.

"So," Aoshi interrupted. "Shishio's trying to take over hell, and we're supposed to help… how?"

"Shishio must be subdued again, and then I'm going to have to cast a spell I've been storing up for a while. I hate to use it now, but it seems to be necessary."

"Spell?"

Koenma nodded. Tapping his pacifier, he said, "This is actually the vessel for the Mafuukan, the Evil Sealing Ring. It takes a long time to build up enough Reiki so I try to avoid using it, but I don't think there's any other way. He's surprisingly strong, especially for a human. But then, to have survived after what he endured at the hands of other humans takes incredible strength of will to begin with. If he wasn't such a stubborn enemy, I'd try to get him on my side."

Aoshi was the one who nodded. "He is a powerful ally, if not reliable."

"There's a lot you haven't said about it, is there," Kaoru looked at Kenshin.

"This one has been unconscious," he said reasonably.

"Well, no one else has that excuse and yet no one else is talking," Kaoru said.

"I am beginning to believe that it is true what they say about the female of the species being more deadly than the male," Chiryuu remarked with no slight amusement as Kaoru threatened to boil over, and the four human males sought by various means to increase the distance between her and themselves.

"Believe it, Chiryuudono," Kenshin said earnestly.

"Until you tick 'em off, women can be the softest things, but then, look out!" Sano said by way of agreement.

"It does not appear that you are doing anything to quiet that one," the demon pointed out.

"We're open to ideas," Yahiko said, ducking behind Chiryuu himself.

"I have always found this one amusing," the demon said, and it took a single step forward.

Somehow, in the time it took for that single step, it seemed to melt and elongate and blur and swell…

Suddenly Yahiko was not cowering behind a slight humanoid figure with wings but behind a monstrously large, sinuous serpent-like creature the color of fresh blood. Its head alone was as long as Aoshi was tall, and every one of its numerous fangs almost predictably long and sharp.

Yahiko made a noise halfway between a scream and a gargle as he fell over backwards, scrambling to get out of the way of the clawed foot that was suddenly where he had been standing.

Kenshin's battoujutsu stance did not falter as the sheath of Aoshi's dual kodachi clattered to the floor. "It is to your credit that all of you… Almost all of you," the dragon-demon amended with a glance at Yahiko which seemed amused, "evinced surprise but did not hesitate to prepare for battle." Sanosuke and Kaoru each stood at the ready, she with bokken raised and a fierce look on each of their faces. Yahiko had not lost his grip on his own wooden sword, and even as he rose had brought it into position.

"Chiryuu, this isn't the time." Koenma sounded irritated, and the dragon rolled its eyes.

"Fine," it said, suddenly sounding more like a petulant teenager than an ancient spirit of the underworld.

Kaoru almost giggled; seeing the toddler boss the dragon around struck her as funny. Koenma turned the look on her for a brief moment, and all humor fled the scene.

"There is something that concerns this one."

"What is it, Himurasan?"

Kenshin raised amethyst eyes to meet Koenma's squarely, giving no sign of his earlier diffidence. "Shishio is already dead, and therefore must be in Hell. If he is to be stopped, should we not have begun already?"

Chiryuu smiled without humor. "That's more like it."

Koenma sighed. "Well, yes, but under the circumstances… We've been able to stretch out the path he's on, so there's a little leeway…"

"How much time?"

Koenma looked up at the ceiling, pretending to calculate. "Well, we can give you up to a month… But the path…"

"What is it, tomorrow or something?" Sanosuke blurted out.

"No, not tomorrow. The day after."

"TWO DAYS!" Kaoru voiced enough outrage for all of them. "You're giving us TWO DAYS to –"

Koenma shrugged. "No, I only said that he should reach Hell in about two days. After that he'll probably begin his takeover efforts."

Kenshin sighed. "It's true that this one is feeling much stronger than expected, considering the last thing remembered is a rather hazy vision of Shishio and Yumidono going up in flames." Unconsciously he rubbed at his shoulder, finding himself surprised at its apparently uninjured condition. "It's also clear that this is neither Kyoto nor Tokyo, and so there's no cause to doubt the truth of what you say."

"Kenshin, he's talking about magic spells! Kid stuff, fairy tale crap!"

"Sano, did you SEE that thing?" Yahiko pointed at Chiryuu, who mantled his wings slightly. He seemed pleased at the compliment. "The way he just became that…"

"Dragon?" Aoshi supplied with something resembling an expression that might have been exasperation tinged with amusement.

Kaoru nodded. "Sano, whatever's going on here, Kenshin can handle it."

Yahiko nodded. "After all, he's got me!"

"You're just a little brat, what good are you?" Sanosuke sniped. Yahiko snarled and attacked.

"Are they always like that?" Koenma sighed, seeming resigned.

"Pretty much," Kaoru said. She also seemed resigned, and was about to wade in to stop them.

"ENOUGH." The growled command echoed through the cavern. Koenma was the only one who did not even flinch; the five humans froze at the cold voice. Chiryuu cocked his head and smirked. "Hmm. I did miss doing that, when I was part of you," he said with a nod to Kenshin.

Kaoru looked suddenly thoughtful. "That's not a bad trick, actually. I could really use that for my students! Well, student," she amended sorrowfully, with an unimpressed glare at Yahiko.

"Too bad you'll never learn it, isn't it."

"Chiryuu," Koenma said in a warning tone, and once more the snarky demon subsided.

"So. Koenmadono, what do you suggest we do?"

The little prince sighed. "I'm not really sure. Kick his ass, I guess. I'll just watch."

"You're not gonna fight?" Yahiko was confused.

"Come on! I'm still little!" He smiled brightly – at least, they thought so. It was hard to tell, with the pacifier in his mouth.

Four of the humans facefaulted. Aoshi covered his face with one hand – for Aoshi, an extreme reaction, as Sanosuke later noted.

But they all knew they were in for far more shocking things.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part III: …Into Hell.**

Koenma had shown them into what he called a "conference room", which concept was not unfamiliar to Kenshin and Aoshi, but was a bit of a novelty for the others. Chiryuu came with them, and they were joined by another demon.

This one looked much more human than Chiryuu, except for something about his eyes and the color of his hair. It came up high above his head in what Yahiko described as looking like a beehive, save for a few bangs that came down over his face. The bangs were green, the rest of his hair was sky blue.

The slight young man introduced himself curtly as Touya. "I understand this Shishio guy is a fire fanatic." He smirked. "I'm _cool_ with that."

Chiryuu rolled his eyes as the others looked perplexed. "Have you been punning with Jin again?"

Touya shrugged. "Just a little."

"A little too much," the Blood Demon glared.

"You're really boring, you know that?"

"What is this, a comedy show?" Sanosuke muttered.

Touya shrugged. "Seems to be the only thing going on. I thought we were supposed to be taking on some dumb human. Killing one I mean, not fighting alongside them." He did not bother to hide his disdain.

Kenshin winced. "There will be no killing. Not if this one can help it."

Touya was unimpressed. "And who are you?"

"He's the human who kicked me out." Chiryuu's own mixed feelings were evident in the abrupt statement.

Now Touya was impressed. "Whoa, _you_ severed a soul-bond with _him_? Now I'm impressed!"

"Is it really that hard to sever a soul bond?" Yahiko wondered.

Even Sanosuke gave him a look. "It's a _SOUL BOND_, ya dumb kid. What do you think?"

"I thought you didn't believe in all that magic stuff," Yahiko replied with a smirk.

"I don't." But now Sanosuke looked uncomfortable.

"Don't tell me you have religion!" Kaoru joined in the teasing. "You, of all people?"

"And what's that s'posed to mean!" Sanosuke demanded, instantly on the defensive.

"Oh, nothing." Kaoru smiled sweetly. She sobered up quickly, though, as her gaze flickered again to the two demons who were beginning to look impatient. "I just never really figured you for the religious type." Privately, she thought it was a good thing that Megumi wasn't present; the way she got along with Sanosuke, she would probably never let up on him about it.

She wondered what Megumi was doing with that… Fox demon.

.:|:.

Coincidentally, Megumi was wondering exactly the same thing. He had flown her to his lair; she had imagined it would be a cave of some sort, maybe with a little garden plot outside. She had been wrong.

It was a mansion.

It wasn't ostentatious, not really; there was something about its design that said it didn't NEED to be. It was large but the occupant clearly enjoyed the physical comforts; various artifacts of questionable nature and even more dubious origin were everywhere; many looked valuable – in some cases, for no reason she could fathom. But though the house was luxurious, it was nothing compared to the vast tract of land it occupied.

Every inch of unbuilt earth was taken up by various forms of plant life, only a few of which Megumi recognized. She had always prided herself on her herbological knowledge, but a great many of these plants seemed to her only loosely related to what she had always considered vegetation.

"Welcome to my home. As you know, I am the Youko Kurama. You are the human doctor, Takani Megumi, is that not correct?"

"It is," she answered distractedly, torn between ogling him and his garden.

"It's not entirely true, you know."

"What isn't entirely true?" She glanced at him in curiosity, and forgot to look away for a moment as he stretched. ~Kensan who?~ she thought mockingly to herself. ~By all the Kami and a few others besides, this man is quite a specimen. Maybe he'll let me examine him later…~

"I'm not completely heartless. Oh, it's true that we demons don't have actual hearts the way you humans do, but I am not without a gentle side. When it suits me, I can be quite kind."

Megumi blinked. "And it suits you to be kind and help us?"

The demon shrugged. "Suffice it to say that there is more benefit to be had from defeating that human than in allowing him free rein."

"In other words, he'll be stepping on your toes if he get his way," Megumi said pointedly.

Kurama cocked his head slightly. "That would be about it, yes." A slight grin played with the corners of his mouth.

Megumi nodded thoughtfully. "I see. May I ask a question?"

"Ask as many as you like, pretty little human."

She blinked at that. Was it supposed to be a compliment? "How often do demons come to – to the human world?"

"Often enough," was the casual reply, "although most of them are very weak at best. Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity," she said curtly. Kurama's ears perked up.

"So my genteel little human doctor has a past with a demon, hmm?"

"Oh, be quiet," she snapped. "You haven't earned the right to know me!"

Kurama stopped trying to hide his amusement. "Oh, you have no idea, do you... But that's a tale for another time," he said, flicking his own tail for emphasis, "as is your own. No, for now we need to get down to what's important." He smiled down at her, and she found herself responding to the teasing look in his eyes. He lifted her chin with a finger. "Let me show you something…"

"Show me," she half-whispered, even as part of her mind wondered what she was doing, and protested violently.

"Yes…" he breathed, looking into her eyes. A slight smile played around the corners of his lips. "I'm going to show you something all right… Plants." The smile burst free into a wicked grin – one that Megumi recognized.

"Plants," she echoed, pulling away from him, her face aflame. "Of course."

He wanted to laugh aloud, but judging by her expression, she would not hesitate to use anything against him that he taught her if he did. ~Discretion is the better part of valor,~ he reasoned. ~Of course I can easily counteract anything she might try. I could step on her like an insect, but… She is feisty and amusing. And dealing with that little runt would not be pleasant, especially if he went running to Papa… No. For now, I play along with them.~

He brought her to a section of the garden that seemed darker to her, though the light was no different, and as he began to point out different plants and their properties to her, she began to understand why.

Megumi quickly became absorbed and forgot to wonder what her companions were up to, but she had never been much interested in the actual fighting they did. She could recognize certain techniques by the wounds they inflicted, but that was all. Nonetheless, she would not have been surprised in the slightest by the conversation that was taking place as she began her demon-herbology studies.

"So what's the plan?"

"We kick his ass." Sanosuke grinned at Touya. Though the Ice Demon was a bit reserved for his tastes, the former gangster was coming to like the blue-haired scrapper rather well. The feeling seemed to be mutual.

"Wow. That is an amazing plan. I never would have thought of it." Chiryuu, however, was less impressed and as time passed seemed more like a petulant, bitter teenager than a centuries-old dragon-demon.

On noticing this, Kenshin prayed fervently that the demon had not affected his personality as deeply as he feared.

Even as he contemplated the demon, Chiryuu was contemplating Kenshin. ~It's fitting, if he is to be the last, that I should have bonded with him, if only for so short a time,~ the demon mused as he watched Kenshin, who sat in silence with his brow furrowed. ~It is the circle, after all. But for now… He will come up with our plan, and we will defeat the noxious human Shishio Makoto. It is good that I never encountered that one during the bond, or I would not have held back. That would have meant disaster for us all.~

"The first thing," Kenshin said slowly, having ignored the others as they squabbled, "is to locate him." His eyes came into focus as he looked at Touya and at Chiryuu. "Do you know where the entrance to Hell is, from which he will emerge?" Both demons nodded. "Good. Then please show this one where to go."

"But Kenshin, you-" Kaoru protested, then stopped herself. Her shoulders slumped.

"I think what Jouchan's tryin' to say is you ain't goin' alone, Kenshin." Sano stepped up and dropped a hand on the young sensei's shoulder. "We're comin' with you."

"ALL of us," Yahiko said firmly.

"This one is the reason he is loose. It is this one's responsibility to go after him."

"That may be, but there is no law that you must go alone," Aoshi pointed out.

"But you all might –"

"Get hurt?" Sanosuke barked humorlessly. "Bit late for that, ne? We've all fought before, we've all been hurt."

"But –" Kenshin cut off his own words, his eyes flickering guiltily to Kaoru.

"What's a little wound between friends?" she asked with forced cheer which quickly faded before her determination. "Kenshin, you're not going to leave us behind this time. You couldn't leave us in Tokyo, and you're not going to get a chance here in… wherever here is."

"The Spirit Realm," Touya supplied helpfully.

"Whatever it is, you're stuck with us, Kenshin," Sanosuke said with a grin. It was clear that he was in deadly earnest despite his casual expression.

Kenshin looked around at his friends, then at the two demons who grinned back rather more ferally, and sighed. "This one does not wish anyone else to suffer for his mistakes."

"That's why we're goin' with you," Yahiko said. "You think we like it when you're hurt?" 

At that, the redhead blinked. A slow, grateful smile spread across his face. "Perhaps not," he conceded. The smile vanished. "But this one must confront Shishio alone."

"Not this again," Sanosuke expostulated.

"For once, I'm with the knucklehead," Chiryuu hissed. Indicating Touya, he added, "We, at least, are under orders to help. If those fools want to fight as well, let them; it will only make our job easier."

The young Ice Master cracked his knuckles. "Sorry, human. I don't care how powerful you are. Like he said, we're under orders. You're not taking him down alone."

Sanosuke grinned. "Yeah, good luck with that. He won't listen."

"We have our orders, soul-sib."

The inflection with which the demon spoke struck a chord in Kenshin's heart. Petulant and irritable the demon might be, but they had spent too many years in the same body. He wanted to argue with them, to protect them, but he knew that there in the demon realm, Shishio would not be constrained by mortal weakness. It came down not just to physical strength, but to mental and emotional ability – and spiritual strength.

Forced to admit it to himself, Kenshin knew that, in the shape his body was in, much of his energy would be devoted to its healing. More importantly, and the part he'd not wanted to share…

He was feeling the effects of the battle on a level that he did not share readily even with those he trusted most. His faith was shaken; he was disheartened.

He had failed. In spite of everything, he had failed to properly handle the problem of Shishio, and he had brought about the man's death – and that of others. Yumi, certainly; he had watched her die in the arms of the man she loved, dignified and proud, rejoicing in her death at the hands which held her tenderly as she breathed her last. She had been able, in her own mind, to prove her usefulness in a fight.

Kenshin had not wanted that. He had never enjoyed taking lives; he had always only wanted to protect –"Hey, SOULSIB!" came a voice in his ear that was neither gentle nor soft. Startled out of his reverie, he blinked at Chiryuu, who was glowering at him from half an inch away.

"Oro?"

"Stop _angsting_! Look, no one else cares that they died. Get over it and move on! Humans die. It's your nature. Right now, we're under orders and there's a new crisis. The one you won't stop dwelling on is past; it's time to worry about your future. IF you have one," the demon snarled.

Okay, so maybe he was angsting a little. He felt entitled. Still, it wasn't impossible that Chiryuu might be right. Moving on was never easy, but…

"That's not quite true," Kaoru said softly. "It's not that we don't care that he died. I… We know that it troubles you, Kenshin, but…"

"What Jouchan's trying to say is that you didn't kill him. Stop blamin' yourself." Sanosuke's gaze was compassionate but matter of fact.

Kaoru nodded. "It's like with… With Kurogasa," she said, recalling the incident with a barely suppressed shudder. "You didn't kill him either."

Kenshin shook his head. "The hand that wielded the blade does not matter. Their deaths are this one's fault."

"Idiot."

All of them looked at Chiryuu, who was glaring down his nose with utter disdain at Kenshin. "You are such an idiot. I can't believe they made me bond with such a pathetic loser."

"What did you just say?" Sano's hands clenched as he took a threatening step towards the Blood Demon, who didn't even seem to notice.

"Only what he wants to hear. He's a loser. A freak and a failure. He doesn't deserve to have friends, or a home, or any of the things that he once believed he thought for. All he is, is a lowlife scum. A murderer without a heart. Isn't that right?"

"Stop it!" Kaoru came barreling towards the deceptively slight figure, her words raw and her hands balled into fists, raised to attack.

Suddenly an imposing figure stood before her, blocking her progress. She tried to go around but Aoshi moved with her, not saying a word.

"Get out of my way! Do you see what he's doing to Kenshin!"

"They've essentially already shared each other's souls," Aoshi reminded her. "Did it ever occur to you that 'Ryuu might be right?"

"'Hyou, keep the humans out of this," the dragon-demon glared.

"I'm trying," Aoshi said with dark, nonchalant patience.

That froze Kaoru where she stood; Sano, too, reacted with shock. Touya only sighed at the confused expression on Yahiko's face. "You really don't pay attention, do you." He rolled his eyes in disgust. "Humans."

Only Kenshin didn't seem surprised. He did not look up at anyone, seeming surrounded by a dark haze.

"Kenshin," Kaoru finally said softly, her original target forgotten as she turned to go to his side. Once more Aoshi was before her.

"Remember your own catharsis," he said simply.

Chiryuu had resumed his contemptuous verbal onslaught. "You should have been the one to die, isn't that right? Useless bit of scum like you… Well, then, if that's what you want, DIE!" From his utterly relaxed pose, the demon all but vanished; his hands had become claws as they freed one of the blades at his waist in a deadly arc for Kenshin's throat.

"KENSHIN!" Sanosuke wasn't entirely sure if the cry came from Kaoru or Yahiko, but it nearly drowned out the sound of metal on metal as the sakabatou blocked the claw-borne blade.

"Enough." The rurouni's voice was low but the dark cloud had vanished. "This one does not play mind games. It is enough that you are right." He raised his eyes to meet the fathomless flaming orbs of the Blood Demon. "Where the blame falls does not matter when there are other, more pressing matters. While it is this one's burden to bear, this is not the time.

"Now, there are those in need of this one's aid."

"Kenshin…" Kaoru breathed his name; Sanosuke merely made a small sound of approval.

"All right, Kenshin! You're back! Now let's go kick some ass!" Yahiko's enthusiasm made the two demons blink at him, taken aback. The others, more used to his energy, merely grinned – although Kaoru did whack him once, with an admonishment to watch his language.

"That's more like it," was all Chiryuu said, satisfaction in the flames of his eyes. He released his blade from the lock with Kenshin's sakabatou and slid it easily into its sheath. Kenshin followed suit, his eyes still wary. "Oh, stop it. You know I'm not going to attack you," the demon sighed.

"This one knows what you were doing… This one probably ought to thank you, but for some reason finds it difficult to do."

"Why, is that sarcasm?" Chiryuu's own was obvious.

Something _thunk_ed into the wall next to his head. He did not flinch but seemed to be rolling his eyes at Touya as he pulled an icicle from the wall.

"Are we going to get on with this or not?" The Ice Master held another missile at the ready, seemingly prepared to do battle with anyone who didn't answer in the affirmative. When no one answered at all, he nodded. "Fine. Chihyou, whatever your name is right now –"

"Shinomori Aoshi."

"Fine. Onmitsu, right? Then we'll attack from the shadows. It's what I do best," he said with a slight shrug at Sanosuke's startled glance.

"I thought you were more of a straightforward fighter, like me."

"No," Touya said. "I could be, but I'd rather hone my abilities for another century or two before I'm really ready to go out in the open." He looked up at the ceiling, tossing the icicle up and catching it reflectively.

Kaoru suddenly found herself not wanting to know where his mind was. She thought he looked younger than she did, but for him to speak so casually of "a century or two" made her uncomfortably aware of his otherness. "Okay then, Kenshin. What about the rest of us?"

"And don't try to tell us to stay out of it," Yahiko added. "Obviously, we're all here for a reason. If they only wanted you, they only would've brought you."

"Kid's got a point," Sanosuke added.

Startled, Kenshin had to agree. ~And since it seems that Aoshi is the one who is currently bonded, he'll probably be the one to do the binding, once I – no, once _we_'ve gotten Shishio back under control.

~No, wait, didn't that young boy, Koenma, say something about a Mafuukan? This is going to be a complicated affair. Still, he's going to try to use Kaorudono and the others against me, as he did before. And this time, no Saitou to interfere. Or help… I can't deny that he was a good ally, while that lasted.

Once I'm recovered, I should give him his duel with me. Barring any interference, of course.~

Kenshin had no idea what was in store, but he knew that didn't matter. "Let's go then."

Chiryuu grinned and nodded, and a moment later Koenma appeared. At the dragon's eager look, the young boy nodded. "Go ahead, then."

Chiryuu grinned as he opened the door through which they'd come. It was not a pleasant expression.

The door no longer led to the bland corridor they remembered. Instead, there were miles of piles of human bones.

"Welcome to Hell."


	5. Chapter 5

**Part IV: Piled Higher and Deeper.**

Kaoru quickly lost track of how long they had been walking. It might have been minutes or months, as far as she was concerned; all these bones were not her choice of décor. "Megumisan might find these things fascinating," she muttered gingerly as she narrowly avoided stumbling over yet another grinning skull, "but they're creeping me out."

"Me too," Yahiko said sympathetically. He scrambled along with the nimbleness of a boy who'd spent too much of his young life on the streets. His distaste for their surroundings was clear. Aoshi seemed unruffled – but then, he always did.

"Come to think of it, what happened to Megumisan?"

Koenma looked at her. "She and Kurama will join us when they're ready," he said. He didn't look too thrilled.

"What's up with you and that fox guy?" Sanosuke wondered.

"Of course, you couldn't know who he is," Koenma sighed.

Touya was the one who answered. "He'd probably the most feared and notorious thief of the Spirit Realm, and a few others besides. No one's really cared to tangle with him for a long time; the stories are enough to keep most people away. He's pretty nasty, if he doesn't like you."

"And what if he does like you?" Yahiko wondered.

"Count your blessings but don't hold your breath," Chiryuu advised. "He's a fickle sort. He used to be really tight with –"

"That's not our story to tell," Touya cut him off. "All you humans need to know about him is he's a good ally, as long as he doesn't tire of you. You probably won't be here long enough for that."

"Why am I not reassured?" Sanosuke grumbled.

"You should be," Chiryuu said. "The last guy he tired of came down with a sudden case of –"

"Enough!" Koenma snapped. "Look, it doesn't matter what happened. He's under orders and he knows what will happen if he steps out of line."

The authority in the toddler's tone had nothing to do with youth or insecurity. Wide-eyed, all of his companions shuddered. The subject was dropped.

They walked on in silence for some time before Kenshin spoke at last. "Koenmadono. If you would, please explain how the soul-bond between a Blood Demon and a human works."

"Afraid to ask me, soul-sib?"

"Probably not in the mood to hear you brag," Touya muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." The Ice Master affected a tone of innocence; Chiryuu glared at him.

Koenma ignored them both. "The bonds of a Blood Demon are a little more complex than simple possession, which you probably already know. When most demons possess a human, they inhabit the human's body and control that person's soul. A Blood Demon's binding doesn't affect the soul completely. Many humans are aware of the presence of the demon only because they consciously agree to the binding, usually in order to achieve a certain goal. There are some cases, however, where the human isn't aware of the binding."

"Like Kenshin's?" Kaoru asked.

"Exactly. In such circumstances, there's usually a traumatic experience that leads up to it, usually involving a lot of bloodshed."

"You mean like that Seta kid?" Sanosuke asked.

"Amazing," Chiryuu interjected before Koenma could respond. "Who would have thought that you of all people would have guessed?"

"Enough," Kenshin said quietly. He was coming to dislike the Blood Dragon quite a bit. ~I truly hope that I was not so profoundly influenced by him…~

"As a matter of fact," Koenma continued, as if there had been no interruption, "Seta Soujirou was indeed possessed by Chizame."

"Chizame?" Yahiko said in bewilderment.

"The Blood Shark is a cold opportunist, perhaps the cruelest of the Blood Demons for his cold disregard of anything but the joy of killing."

Kenshin looked troubled. "It sounds like he would have been more likely to possess Jin'e than Soujirou," he murmured.

"Nope," Touya piped up. "That guy was just nuts."

"Soujirou was able to shake off the binding, much as you did, but because of his circumstances, the bond wasn't as secure as most to begin with. Chizame bonds rarely for that reason; Soujirou is perhaps the third human with whom he's ever bonded, including the eighth Hiko Seijuurou. He's a little shaken right now, considering the way that Seta Soujirou separated the demon from himself," Koenma added wryly.

"This whole thing sounds really complicated," Yahiko complained.

"It is," Koenma said simply.

Aoshi had been silent the whole time. "If a bond was not a conscious, mutual agreement, is the binding then weakened?" he asked suddenly.

Koenma opened his mouth to respond, then stopped himself. "I don't know," he said honestly. "Chiryuu, what do you think?"

"I'm surprised you're the one asking," the slight demon said dryly. "That said, it's possible. Truthfully, until recently, almost all of the blood bonds have been completely voluntary." Suddenly, Chiryuu was surprised to find that he hadn't the heart to tell Kenshin that his Shishou had known of their bond – had in fact been the one to arrange it. But then, Chitora had bonded well with the human Hiko Seijuurou. The human soul and his demon had quite a lot in common, after all, and Hiko was fully aware of his own bond – as well as those of his predecessors. Usually the secret was passed down after the succession technique, as the master lay dying in his former apprentice's arms.

Every master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu had been possessed by one of the Blood Demons, each bringing their own unique characteristics to the bond. The Dragon was quite proud of his technique and had taught the others of his kind before any of them had bonded. Supposedly this was in order to facilitate the education of the humans bonded with the demons, but most of the other Blood Demons believed (correctly) that it was mostly the Dragon's way of bragging.

The entity who would spend time known as the Demon of Kyoto had never been known for his modesty about his skills.

.:|:.

That was not an uncommon trait among the more powerful demons; Megumi had already discovered it, much to her chagrin. Fortunately, Kurama seemed to be well able to focus on the task at hand without spending too much time recounting his own successes. While teaching her a fair amount about plants on the demon plane that might prove useful in the fight against Shishio, he also pointed out some surprising aspects of plant life on the human plane.

"I'm particularly fond of this one as a tactical advantage," he said, showing her a tiny seed. "It's called deadly vetch, and it loves energy and blood both. It's proven quite useful against a persistent opponent and all it needs is one little wound to get into someone's system…"

"Then what?"

Kurama smiled, and a chill ran down Megumi's back. "It grows. Quickly. It can incapacitate and kill even a strong demon in minutes, unless he knows how to counteract the effects."

"Which you do," Megumi observed.

"Of course." The look he gave her sent chills of mixed natures down her spine. "Shall I demonstrate?"

~This man is pure danger,~ her instincts screamed. ~But what attractive danger…~ She shook her head to clear it. "No. That's unnecessary. Thank you," she added as though it were an afterthought. "The problem is that we're dealing with something that isn't a man anymore, nor a demon. Will something like that disable a discorporate soul?"

Kurama nodded both in approval and thought. "I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. Pushing a long white lock back over his shoulder, he stretched. "I've had very little to do with humans the last few hundred years, and with good reason."

"And what would that be?"

Kurama smiled at her, without humor. There was a languid, condescending quality in it that disconcerted Megumi. "Would you, as a human, really _want_ me to have much to do with your kind?"

Something in the way he asked it made her hesitate. Ordinarily, such a challenge would have demanded an affirmative answer from her. ~Then again, ordinarily, his looks alone would have demanded an affirmative answer. Not that he's in any way ordinary.~ Mentally, she shook herself. Hadn't she already proven to herself that she wasn't the sort of woman to be swayed by just any pretty face? ~But his isn't just any pretty face.~ She stopped the thought completely once more, fighting against the sudden warmth that flooded her own pretty face.

She had to wonder if he was playing with her, and if so whether it was because of his nature or if there was something about her in particular. She'd seen the expressions on the other demons' faces when they'd dealt with him. Many of them feared him, most of them despised him, but even those who hated him most held at least some trace of grudging admiration. He was quick-witted, charismatic, powerful, and unquestionably dangerous. In short, he was the embodiment of what many of them aspired to become. Megumi understood the general sentiment all too well as she considered his words. Her own immediate inclinations to the contrary, she had to admit the truth of what he said.

"No, I don't suppose you have much regard for our best interests at heart," she said finally, granting him a wry shake of her head.

"Perceptive of you. There's only one being I look out for." He shrugged easily, a fluid motion that made his shoulders flex intriguingly. Megumi tried to rationalize her fascination to herself by telling herself she was observing a medical specimen.

"That makes you not so different from most of humanity," she said, the acidity of her words mixed with a dark humor.

"Perhaps, except that I have a much greater ability to protect my own interests," he replied, with an equally dark grin and a casually sweeping gesture around the garden.

Megumi sighed wistfully. "There are very few things about your garden I find that I like, Kuramasan," she admitted, "But there are a few things that I wish I'd had not so long ago."

"Don't," he said suddenly, abruptly. Something flickered in his eyes, too quickly for her to see. "You're one of the good ones. Don't let anyone take that away from you." With a flick of one ear, he turned abruptly and disappeared into the house, his silver tail twitching behind him.

Megumi blinked after him for a long moment. "What just happened?"

A tiny demon that bore some slight resemblance to a bird with long blue hair and horns hopped up quietly. "You're probably happier not knowing."

"What?" Megumi drew in breath to scream, but the tiny creature hushed her frantically.

"He's got a Past. Doesn't everyone? Don't pry."

The doctor blinked and opened her mouth to ask the little demon another question, but it seemed to have vanished.

~There's really no privacy here, is there,~ she mused as she read the notes she'd been taking. Unthinkingly she leaned against a large, mossy rock at her back.

It began to move.

_[AN] Augh, writing egotistical Kurama pre-Minamino is hard! I want to write him the way we know him, but he wouldn't be that way at this point in time, and it just feels weird! [/AN]_


	6. Chapter 6

**Part V: Humans and Demons **

Perhaps if she had screamed, he might have come out sooner. Megumi was, however, not much of a screamer. Too many years of suffering had taught her that silence was more than golden; now, that served her poorly. She gasped as she was lifted into the air, her arms pinned to her sides. The rustling movement behind her, like wind in leaves, became louder and she saw the sturdy tendrils as they wrapped themselves around her, quickly covering her mouth and constricting her chest, arms, and legs.

She was unable to move. Breathing was becoming more difficult. Her vision was taking on a reddish tinge.

~Stay calm. There has to be something… What did he say this was? I know he told me it was here…~ Staying calm was harder than it sounded, although there was very little she could do. The world was getting rapidly darker, and not simply because of additional tendrils that were wrapping around her face and body like a cocoon.

~This isn't my real body,~ she struggled to remind herself. ~Whatever happens here isn't really happening. It's a dream… Only a dream.~

She stopped struggling as the vines enclosed her completely.

"Megumisan, I forgot to tell you about the - well, I guess you found out about the marble sundew." Exasperation flickered across his features as he noted the completeness of her encasement. "I suppose I'd better get you out of there," he sighed. He exerted his will but the plant seemed reluctant to release its captive.

"Oh no you don't. I am not getting incarcerated because of you," he growled, and finally the plant let go.

The tendrils unfurled and dumped Megumi's body unceremoniously on the ground; the plant then proceeded to wrap itself back into the uneven boulder-shaped formation which had fooled Megumi.

He noted she had a pulse, but she had stopped breathing. ~No choice.~

He pinched her nose shut, leaned forward, and shifted the position of her neck and head before pressing his mouth around hers. The method was yet unheard of in the human world, but it was not completely unknown in the demon realm – and was deemed more effective. He watched her chest rise and fall, waited a moment, then did it again – and with a cough, her lungs restarted on their own.

Annoyed, he leaned back on his heels. "You humans are so pathetic."

"You could have stopped me," she whispered, irritated without even opening her eyes.

"This is the demon realm. I shouldn't have to watch you. You're not quite as stupid as most humans… Or at least I thought so."

"You were teaching me about plants. That's a rock."

He glanced at it unnecessarily; indeed, the trick of the marble sundew was to pose as a boulder until unwitting prey touched it and triggered the aggressive response. "It's a plant, native to the demon plane. It's related to the sundews."

"Sundews eat insects."

"Demon plane sundews eat a lot more than insects."

"Makes sense," Megumi sighed. She opened her eyes. "Shouldn't we get back to the others?"

He shook his head. "I know a shortcut to get where they're going. You should rest a little, anyway." He seemed suddenly uncomfortable.

"Can we take that thing with us too?"

Now he raised an eyebrow. "Not hardly. If I were to grow one from a seed, it might work… but it would need a great deal of sustenance to grow as much as we'd need that quickly."

Megumi shuddered. "Ahh," was all she said, the small sound communicating quite a lot of sentiment.

"Don't worry. You'll recover quickly."

"I know," she replied. "I've suffered far worse… That wasn't much different from having the wind knocked out of me from a bad fall, and surprisingly less painful."

Kurama nodded. "Marble sundews are constraining without being constrictive. They dissolve their prey slowly from the outside, rather than – sorry." He actually looked genuinely contrite. "Sometimes I forget that not everyone is as comfortable with _all_ the details of the plant life around here." He shrugged. "It's easy enough to forget when you've lived as long as I."

~Well, if that isn't begging the obvious question.~ "How old are you?" Megumi asked casually. Though he was a demon, he hardly looked older than she herself was. Even knowing the legends of kitsune as well as she did, she was surprised by his answer.

"Oh, I don't know," he said in an offhand manner. Let's see…" He cocked his head at an angle. "I suppose I must be around eight, maybe nine hundred or so. You stop paying attention after a while."

Megumi blinked. "Nine hundred?"

"Yes. Give or take. I remember all sorts of interesting things. I remember the beginning of the shougunate, the discovery of what the Europeans called the New World once they realized it wasn't the Far East…" He snorted derisively. "Humans as a whole are rather stupid. Not that many demons are much better. I remember how the Blood Demons came about, for example… And why there are thirteen of them."

Megumi was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. Still, this was about Kenshin, and anything that could help him even the tiniest bit was important. "Thirteen? So… Kensan's demon… Chiryuu, isn't the only one?"

"Oh yes, did no one tell you?" Kurama smiled that familiar smile again. "You have heard of the legends of the Chiyoukai, have you not?"

Megumi stared at him blankly. "The Blood Demons, like Chiryuu…" She continued to stare in frank confusion. Kurama suppressed the urge to growl in frustration, sighing instead.

"When the gods created the Chiyoukai, they created them from spirit animals. The first four were created in the images of the Four Beasts, but the gods were not satisfied. They kept creating more. All in all, they elevated twelve spirits to become Blood Demon Animals." As he told the story, he began to enjoy himself with the telling. He hammed it up a little, much to Megumi's amusement.

"They were created from male spirits, this new race of demons, and they were not satisfied. 'If other races of demons have females, why don't we?'

"'Are you not the most fearsome of beasts, given abilities far beyond the rest of your kinds? Are you not wonderfully powerful demons? Why do you care about a female?' the gods asked in bewilderment.

"The demons did not respond verbally, sinking collectively into a sullen funk and refusing to do their demonly duties until the gods relented.

"'Fine then,' the gods said. 'You may have your female, but mind that you do not come to regret it!' And so the gods searched among the remaining spirit animals, until they found the most beautiful, sensuous, and crafty female among them. She was a Kitsune spirit."

Something changed in his eyes, a flicker of the darkness he'd been holding at bay since they'd returned to his home. His ears flicked backwards briefly. "You don't need to worry about the rest of that story," Kurama finished abruptly. Hard resolve colored his eyes, and his tone changed. "One day, a few hundred years ago, before she was recruited by the gods, she grew bored, enchanted a human man, and bore him children. I'm fairly sure one of them was your ancestor."

"My ancestor?"

"Yes," the youko confirmed. "You have demon blood in you, although so diluted it hardly matters. It's not impossible that one day one of your children, or someone even further down the line, might actually be able to manifest the powers of your Kitsune bloodline someday. Not likely, but not impossible."

Megumi would have staggered had she been standing. "I'm... I'm a demon?"

Kurama blinked; she seemed shocked, but not surprised. "Not exactly."

"But… But I… All those deaths… I… It explains so much… But…"

"Deaths?" he asked, carefully keeping his face neutral. "Why don't you tell me all about it while I take you back to your friends? I think perhaps the time is near." ~This is bound to be interesting… Most humans who are responsible for many deaths are more pragmatic about it.~

"More death," she said unhappily. "But this time it's to save lives. Many, many lives." Kurama blinked again, taken aback at the vehemence in the cinnamon brown eyes of the slight human female he carried so easily. She did not notice. "When I first met Kensan and the others, I was being forced to make opium for a… man… who may have been one of those lesser demons you talked about. Many people died because of it. I used to wonder how I could have allowed it, but if I have demon blood…"

Kurama shook his head. "Demons are as varied as humans; having demon blood means nothing, not so far removed as it is in you. I can smell it on you, because we share the Kitsune line, even though we're not related. But that's all. It's no different than if your mother had curly hair, or your father was very tall. You might have tall, curly-haired children, but it has no effect on you."

"Somehow I'm not entirely reassured." While that was true, the fluid motion of his walk as he carried her put her to sleep. As soon as he was reassured that she would not awaken immediately, he took to the air by way of the silvery butterfly-like wings formed by his plants. ~Better not to hear her story; for two days she's hardly taken the time to eat. She's done nothing but study. Perhaps I was too hard on her, but perhaps not. Besides, the less I know of her, the better.~

The landscape changed quickly; Megumi slept lightly, dozing off and on as Kurama glided swiftly in a direction she could only hope would bring her back to her friends. Even in her unaware state, she clung to him, the only solid thing in a world which made no sense to her senses; a dangerous and frightful place full of death and man-eating plants. In her more lucid moments, she was afraid to check for the herbs and seeds she'd collected from Kurama's garden, although the fox demon's arms were reassuringly tight around her.

Surprisingly, he had quite an inventory of medicinal plants as well as the more aggressive ones, and he'd provided her with enough for all of her companions to survive the coming battle – and its aftermath. She'd told him some of the injuries they'd sustained on the human plane as well, but he'd warned her that most plants did not do well on planes outside their own; those from the human plane were the sole (and often irritating) exception. He had wrapped everything carefully in what seemed to her a depressingly small parcel that hardly showed its presence in the sleeve of her kimono.

Sensing her discomfort during her waking moments, the demon chose not to tease her about it. Instead, his mind was on the forthcoming battle. He truly had no intention of participating if he could avoid it, preferring to avoid unnecessary deaths. In spite of his reputation, he had a great respect for life. It was the living he tended to hold in contempt; so few valued the same things he did. It had been no accident that the hitman he'd sent after his former lieutenant had only succeeded in blinding the other; nonetheless, the assassin had never returned for the remainder of his payment. Kurama occasionally wondered what had become of the hateful creature, more as an academic matter than out of any real compassion.

He knew of Koenma's intention to use the Mafuukan against the human's ghost. He wasn't entirely sure it would be effective; much of the preparations he'd arranged himself involved backup plans. It wasn't so much that he doubted the young entity's abilities, but Koenma WAS young, as such things went; he had very little experience dealing with humans – especially humans as evil as this one was purported to be.

Kurama had to smile to himself, though there was little humor in it. He wasn't evil at heart, but he had come to understand the darkness so well that it hardly seemed to matter. In the last few centuries, he had come to be perceived as one of the nastiest demons on the plane, and so he had cultivated that image. He glanced down at the astonishingly frail creature in his arms as he glided on air currents towards the darkest hell. A brief moment of temptation seized his heart… It would be so easy to just drop her. To let her fall and claim it was an accident…

But there were too many reasons not to, least of which was that it wasn't her fault. She had no more asked for this than he had. Also, getting Koenma pissed at him was not on his agenda. For now, he needed to stay on the little prince's good side, officially. Over the decades he'd been getting bolder, and begun infuriating some dangerous beings. The thrill was addictive, which was no small part of why he had agreed to participate in this farce.

At last the entrance he sought came into view. Kurama angled toward it.

"Is that it?" Megumi said, sounding as though she hoped he'd change his mind.

"It is the version of Hell we expect your 'little friend' to take over," he reminded her. "And we're taking the easy way in; your friends have been trekking in through the boneyard."

She shuddered and turned her face towards his shoulder.

"A physician, huh?" The mockery in his voice wasn't reflected in his eyes, but she didn't see it.

"I fight against death. Now more than ever, I hate it."

"But death is a part of life," Kurama said evenly.

"I don't care! I know it is, but there's no reason to just give in. Not when there is so much we can do to fight it off, and every day we learn more!" Passion fired her courage and she raised her head to look the demon in the face. "As long as I'm alive, I'm going to keep my promise to Kensan and bring healing to those still living."

"There's a story in that," Kurama said.

"There is."

"I don't care to hear it." Megumi looked at him in startled indignation before she noticed that they were gliding to a landing.

They spoke very little as they traveled; Kurama helped the human doctor as a matter of expedience. His mind was still on the upcoming battle.

Nor was he the only one so focused; the rest of the party hunting Shishio Makoto had fallen largely silent after the discussion on soul-bonding had dwindled, leaving the humans thoughtful.

~I'm going to need to wipe their minds of this when it's all done,~ Koenma mused. ~I hate that part of it. In spite of what the doctor lady thinks, it's not as easy as it looks.~ With a sigh, he banished the thought; first, they had to survive the battle.

Kaoru was growing increasingly nervous. Their very surroundings were disconcerting by nature, and their mission more so. The young sensei was not comfortable with it. She was even less keen on the idea of Yahiko being involved; she feared that his youthful enthusiasm and lack of experience would skew his perceptions. She had worked very hard, so far, to instill the ideas of Katsujinken; the way of "swords that give life" was a much harsher discipline in many respects than Satsujinken. Killing in the heat of a battle was easy. Refraining from doing so could be very much harder.

It wasn't something with which she'd ever had a problem, Kaoru mused, but Yahiko had been surrounded by a lot of bad influences before he came to her dojo…

Even more than her student, Kaoru was worried about Kenshin. The rurouni was as quiet as the rest of them, but she could tell he was deeply troubled. Though unsure if it was by what he'd learned about the soul-bond, or about the upcoming fight, she wanted to go to him and ease his mind. Realistically, she knew there wasn't much she could do except to stay out of harm's way.

"It should be easier with only the three of them, and two of them aren't fighters," she said aloud, startling herself more than anyone with the sudden words.

"Don't underestimate them, Kaorudono. They are the two who were most fanatic in their devotion to Shishio." Kenshin fell back into silence, his eyes darkening with something she did not understand. It was deeper than regret, but she could not fathom what was on his mind.

She could not know of the way Yumi had died, of how it had been a disturbing mirror of the death of the woman he'd first grown to love. He didn't want her to find out, either; he feared she would withdraw. If she learned of his past… Knowing about Battousai was one thing, but knowing of the man he had been, knowing that he had loved – and lost, and how…

Inadvertently, his eyes went to the dragon demon. The look of eager anticipation for the battle combined with frustrated boredom at having to wait for it came as no surprise to the human who had once shared a body with the being from the Spirit Realm.

It was an oddly reassuring and familiar sight, which realization did not ease his mind. ~How much was the demon, and how much was me…?~

"We chose each other." Aoshi's voice startled them; disjointed from the conversation, the group exchanged glances. "The demon and I. We paired well until the Oniwabanshu were disbanded; but when my men died for me… It was Chihyou who sought vengeance for their deaths."

"You're still thinkin' about that?" Sanosuke blurted in surprise. "Koenma explained all about the blood demons a long time ago."

"Not all," Chiryuu said. "Not hardly. Though it's true that in the rare cases of bonding with someone older than about ten or so, there pretty much has to be some kind of traumatic event that leaves the human's soul shaken and disoriented. Otherwise there's no way to move in."

"Which is why you were able to enter this one's mind as a child," Kenshin said slowly.

"Exactly. Although there were additional factors, for us," Chiryuu said. For the first time any of them could recall, he sounded hesitant.

It was Aoshi who startled them with the answer. "You…" Something in his voice changed. "The Blood Demons have each inhabited a master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. In fact," he addressed Chiryuu, "you were the one who created the style."

"That I did," Chiryuu said with an odd blend of pride and hesitation. Now it was his turn to look askance at Kenshin. "You have a natural aptitude for swordwork. All you got from me on that score was an inclination to Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu itself."

"Well," Kenshin said after a long moment. "That does explain why most of the moves have "dragon" in their names."

The Blood dragon grinned, unrepentant. "They're damn cool moves, and they deserve damn cool names."

Aoshi snorted softly.

"You got a problem, Kittyboy?" A new voice joined the conversation.

"Kittyboy?" Aoshi's tone was more than unamused. There was a growling quality to it that was not entirely human.

"In case you hadn't figured it out, I'm sure you can extrapolate that your friend here has been joined with Chihyou, the Blood Panther." Kurama's tone was dry.

"You're a little late for that revelation, Fox," the dragon growled. "How'd you get here so fast, anyway?"

The tall youko shrugged nonchalantly, then set Megumi down. "Winged it," he said with a smile as he convinced the elaborate vegetation on his back to retreat into a hibernative state.

"Megumisan!" Kaoru abandoned caution for a moment and stumbled on a skull as she started to run towards the other woman. "Are you all right?"

"I'm quite well, thank you," Megumi said, looking a little uncertainly at Kaoru. "Are you?" 

"I hate it here," the younger replied softly. "I really, REALLY hate it here."

"It IS Hell," Kurama pointed out without sympathy. "You're not supposed to like it."

"I'm not supposed to BE here!"

"If we weren't supposed to be here," Megumi said reasonably, "we wouldn't. Isn't that right, Kensan?" She moved to the redhead's side and slipped her arm through his.

"Oro?"

"Megumi…san…" Kaoru's mood had changed abruptly.

"Well, you can't possibly expect me to make my way over this treacherous terrain without help. I don't have your training and dexterity, Kaoruchan," Megumi said in the same reasonable tone, ignoring Kenshin's vaguely panicked expression.

"Why don't you have _that guy _help you. Or _THAT guy_ keep on carrying you."

Kenshin quietly removed his arm from Megumi's grasp, much to her dismay. Kaoru didn't seem to notice, still fuming.

"Nice," Touya said admiringly. "Best backhanded compliment I've ever seen."

Chiryuu was shaking his head. "What an idiot."

"Who?" Touya asked, bewildered.

"The one I shared space with."

"Why?"

"Which would YOU choose?"

"For lunch? Or to take for lunch?" Touya snickered.

To everyone's surprise, it was Kurama who slapped both of the shorter demons upside their heads. "Enough. Where is our fearless leader?" His sarcasm was evident, but they all knew who he meant.

"Where DID the little squirt go?" Yahiko wondered.

"You're one to talk," Sanosuke snorted. "He was here just a few minutes ago…"

"Lord of the Spirit Realm. Can be anywhere. Don't like to do it often," the small prince said. "Takes more energy than I like to use." He reappeared at the head of the group, looking flushed. "We're not far from the entrance, but neither is Shishio. We'd better move." He did something and suddenly a youth stood before them, looking only a little older than Yahiko. He had straight brown hair, with a mark on his forehead that had most likely been hidden by the bulky hat. His clothes were similar to those he wore in his toddler form but the others were able to see the promise of his features.

"Good lookin' kid," Sanosuke said with a grin. "Betcha he's not a brat, either."

Yahiko was on the tall youth's back in a flash, gnawing at his head.

"Enough, you two," Kaoru said, finally ceasing her glaring at Megumi only to turn the expression on her friends.

"Koenmasama, you've grown," Kurama said smoothly.

The dark look the young prince sent the Fox Demon spoke volumes. The elder subsided.

"Let's keep moving," Touya said, surprising himself by being the voice of reason.

They trudged on in silence for what felt like a long time. At last they topped another mound and immediately noticed two things.

"The entrance," Kaoru said, trepidation in her voice. "And…" She raised a hand to point.

There was no need. They had already seen the three figures approaching the gateway.

Kenshin's hand tightened on the hilt of his sakabatou. "Shishio."

_[AN] CPR as we know it didn't come into use until the mid 20__th__ century. In the early Meiji era, the Schafer method was still in use as a means of artificial respiration, which was __"a method of artificial respiration in which the patient is placed face downward, pressure then being rhythmically applied with the hands to the lower part of the thorax."__ However, the demons played by different rules. _

_Yes, Koenma's human form is a bit younger here because HE is a bit younger here. [/AN]_


	7. Chapter 7

**Part VI: Encounter at a Far Point**

"Don't rush into anything," Koenma cautioned. "Aside from the fact that the… well, the footing is even more treacherous here, once you're through that door, there's no going back. That goes for anyone."

"IS that a threat?" Sanosuke asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Fact," Koenma said curtly, and his tone convinced the youth more than anything else.

"So we don't want him going through that door either, do we."

"No. Or all Hell really WILL break loose. And there'd be no way to stop it. There's only just enough charge in this," Koenma tapped the pacifier, "to bind up Shishio's soul. And anyone who might get caught with him. But there's no getting out of that either."

"So what do we do?"

"We fight," Chiryuu said. "And we win. Then Koenma ties him up in that spell, and we seal him away."

"Shall I set you down again?" Kurama asked Megumi, who had eventually consented, not entirely reluctantly, to let him carry her after proving her inability to negotiate the bone piles without difficulty.

~I guess there really is something she can't do,~ Kaoru had mused. It had softened her a bit towards the doctor, although she was not ready to relinquish her skepticism about the woman's good intentions.

"Can you fight and carry me?"

Kurama shrugged. "Not as effectively, but since I generally prefer using less direct methods, it shouldn't become an issue unless hand-to-hand combat is required."

Megumi couldn't deny that she was enjoying the closeness of the tall, strong, striking male – or that she didn't object to the less overtly messy ways of handling an enemy.

"One thing I don't understand. I know what he's capable of, but why are so many people needed to go after that guy?"

"Because his power will not be as limited by his body here," Koenma answered. "The limitations placed on him by his burns will only affect him if he believes they will. Because this is his spirit self, not his physical body anymore, he's exactly as capable as he believes."

"So we have to believe we can beat him," Kaoru said, half-questioning.

"Well, it helps."

The six humans and four denizens of the Spirit Realm looked around at one another.

"Hey," Sanosuke piped up. "I just realized… Up there, it was that guy who had the Juppongatana. Now we're the ones with ten. Strength in numbers, right? Since we're already better than he is." He grinned, his old cocky grin.

Kenshin raised a hand as if to caution his friend, but Chiryuu cut him off. "That's the right attitude. If you want to die."

"Stop it!" Kaoru burst out, caught somewhere between frustration and despair.

"Kensan, he isn't like you at all," Megumi added, her own concern evident. "Were you really one with that guy?"

Kenshin smiled slightly, startled. "Well, this one wasn't always…"

"Back in the day, he was a real jerk," Chiryuu said with relish. "Hotheaded, impulsive, bitter, had no sense of humor at all. Whatever he had of one, he got from me."

Kenshin flinched slightly.

"Nah, I'm sure that ain't true," Sanosuke said, tossing the words out carelessly. "He probably just got so disgusted by you he didn't feel like laughing at anything."

Touya snickered; the other humans tried with varying degrees of success to hide their own amusement. Aoshi did not smile, but his eyes glittered.

"This one had no idea that there was another spirit in this body," Kenshin tried to protest, but it was clear that his friend's words had helped ease a burden for him.

"And to be fair, he didn't exactly have the easiest childhood," Kaoru pointed out.

"Who did?" Koenma said a bit darkly – in unison with Yahiko.

That set them all off, and while their laughter still had a slight edge to it, at least the humans of the group were able to take deep breaths and square their shoulders a little more easily.

Which, as it turned out, was a good thing. From a different direction, the trio of figures they'd spotted were now cresting the nearest hill to theirs.

"It's him," Sanosuke whispered tensely. Dropping into a crouch, he was not the only one to assume a fighting stance.

But a second look caused consternation on his face a moment later. "What the… He's not burned?"

"This is the Spirit Realm," Touya reminded him. "Things aren't quite the same here as they are in the human world. Here, he can manifest himself as himself, not constrained by mortal flesh."

"I guess he didn't like the mummy look," Touya observed.

Yahiko snickered. "Who would?"

"Will you two stop joking around?" Kaoru hissed, glaring at her student.

"So we're good with the plan?" Touya said, making eye contact with Aoshi.

"This one fights alone," Kenshin said, his tone brooking no argument.

"Not happening, idiot. That's how you got into trouble in the first place." Chiryuu glared at his former human host with undisguised contempt.

Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he returned the glare. "That is enough."

"Stop." Koenma's voice carried well, though he spoke softly. "There'd better not be any more fighting between us. He's coming this way."

Indeed, the travelers had changed their direction slightly and were now walking towards them. They seemed to be deliberately taking their time, knowing that their leisurely pace would only serve to heighten their prospective opponents' anxiety.

Kenshin called them on it. "A stupid tactic," Kurama scoffed in soft reply. A disdainful toss of silver hair over his shoulder underlined the comment.

Kenshin didn't see it, having moved forward. Alert and ready for anything, Chiryuu and Sanosuke flanked him, all three acutely aware of everyone's position.

Kurama stood directly behind Kenshin, though farther back; he kept Megumi and Koenma behind himself – much to the former's surprise. Aoshi and Touya had flanked the fox demon in turn, leaving Kaoru and Yahiko between themselves and the looming silvery figure. Kenshin didn't like the idea of having the noncombatant's backs so blatantly exposed, but the openness of the plain and the lack of Shishio's minions would have to do. There was little risk as long as they kept back, and they were not unprotected.

It still rankled. They were all under his protection, and if anything should happen to them, so soon after his recent near failure…

But he would not allow himself to think of it now. Shishio Makoto had come to a halt.

The figure standing before him now bore little resemblance to the man he'd faced in the human realm. This man was unscarred, but still seemed to burn with an unholy heat. His eyes glowed with it as he sneered in greeting.

"Didn't have enough after all, did you?" If he had been disainful before his death, it was nothing compared to the utter scorn emanating from Shishio now.

"That's him?" Kaoru wondered. 

Aoshi, next to her, responded as softly. "That is his spirit-self. His soul. The part of him that was human is dead. If we destroy him here…"

"The destruction will be total," Kurama added from in front of them. "The entity once known as Shishio Makoto would be no more."

"And that would be just fine," Yahiko muttered darkly.

Megumi said nothing, studying the face of the man who had done so much damage to Kenshin. It was not a truly handsome face. Though not completely unattractive, Shishio's features were rather long and plain. It was his expression that made him ugly, she decided: he seemed to hold everyone and everything around him in contempt at best. His sense of superiority practically oozed from him and left her feeling low and dirty. His physique was unsurprisingly impressive, and she thanked whatever gods that she couldn't detect battle auras. She did not doubt that his would be significant – and the reactions of her companions confirmed her suspicion.

Kenshin glared back, somehow seeming calm despite the disgust in his eyes. "To the contrary," he said finally. "This one has had more than enough."

"So much so as to follow me into the realm of the dead," Shishio sneered. "Insolent little man." He stepped forward-

-and Kenshin's head snapped back with the force of impact of the man's fist on his chin, but he did not stumble. Instead, he slowly turned his gaze back on his opponent.

"We were brought here just to put you in your place again," Sanosuke began with a growl, but was silenced with a tiny nod from Kenshin.

"That's all very nice, I'm sure, but I think you'll find you're even less of a match for me now than you were before."

Yahiko growled in his throat, his bokken readied in his hands. His grip was rather tighter than necessary, and Touya laid a hand on the youth's shoulder.

"This one is unfettered by injuries and fatigue," Kenshin said calmly.

"Unlike your previous meeting, where your little cronies had to soften him up first," Chiryuu hissed with no slight glee.

"You shut up!" Houji snapped. She started to say something else, but a gesture from Shishio, no greater than Kenshin's nod had been, silenced her.

"You're still weak, Battousai," Shishio purred. "And you have no idea how liberating it is to be freed from the prison of flesh in which I'd found myself."

Yumi gave him a sidelong glance with a hint of smugness that left no question in anyone else's mind how completely she agreed with him – or why. If she had intended to faze anyone, however, the effect was lost. Her smile stiffened and faded.

"No limitations," Shishio continued. "No need to rest or heal."

"You forget, jackass. We're all here in spirit form," Sanosuke growled.

"It's different for him. He has no body to return to," Koenma pointed out. "You have limits that he doesn't, if you don't want to die too."

The tall fighter sank into silence as he absorbed the information.

But something in the young prince's tone caught in Kenshin's mind, and he had to keep himself from speaking aloud.

~So, he has a different set of limitations – and apparently hasn't learned what they are yet. The demons know but aren't saying anything.~

Of the humans, though he could not see her, only Megumi's lips tightened as she understood what Koenma was not saying.

Kurama had told her, at one point during her studies, of the effect that using one's ki could have on their souls if they didn't replenish their energy. Clearly, in this barren wasteland, there would be no such opportunities… And though her friends were at risk, if they didn't deplete themselves too much, they could recover on the physical plane.

She was just glad that their spiritual bodies were not as profoundly affected by recent events as their physical ones…

Still, she knew this was going to be a battle in which her skills would be tested constantly. ~If only because that thick birdheaded idiot is going to do his best to get himself killed again.~

But as for what that meant for Shishio… She could not be certain of anything; he had a very strong presence. She suspected that meant a lot, on this alternate plane. She wasn't reassured.

To judge by the looks on her companions' faces, those she could see were not aware of the danger. The demons accepted it for what it was, as this was their plane; they knew that death was not inevitable. The humans, however, wore identical expressions of fierce determination. Only Aoshi was as implacable as ever. ~Then again, he never did show much emotion over anything.~

"So," Shishio broke the long silence, "you came to 'put me in my place'? How quaint," he said with the same supercilious attitude he'd displayed in life. "Why don't you show me?"

"Sano." Kenshin's voice stopped his friend even as the tall youth took an aggressive step.

"All right, Kenshin. But I ain't backin' down outta respect for _him_."

"No one asked you to, little boy," Houji spat.

Sanosuke muttered something unflattering and took half a step in the lieutenant's direction.

~Wait a minute,~ Kenshin realized, seeing Houji for the first time. He'd been hanging back from Shishio and Yumi, who clung to her beloved's arm. ~If that man is here too, he must have died… But what happened? I'll have to ask the others what happened after Shishio… But later.~

"Enough of this posturing!" Shishio's eyes flashed.

Literally.

"Kensan!" Far enough behind the others to lack a clear picture, all Megumi saw was a flash of flame that engulfed Kenshin and the two that stood beside him. Levitating, Koenma had a better view.

"Chiryuu!" Unlike her cry, the spirit prince's call was a command.

From the flames, red wings spread. Arched up and over… and the flames vanished.

They reappeared in the eyes of the dragon-demon that crouched over Kenshin and Sanosuke. "I will handle his fire," Chriyuu's sibilant hiss echoed over the bone hills. "You can take his steel."

Yumi stared in unchecked astonishment at the blood-hued creature that had appeared before her. Long and sinuous, its deep red scales reflected an inner heat that encircled the parties loosely. It looked very much like the dragons depicted for centuries on vases and jars, on screens and fans, save for the color and the spectacular spread of wings.

And it was huge. Broader across than Sanosuke's height, its teeth were easily as long as Yahiko's leg, its claws longer yet.

Shishio only smiled.

_[AN] So many references, so little time! [/AN]_


	8. Chapter 8

**Part VII: Don't Blink**

"A dragon. What a fine idea," Shishio's smile stretched. Then his body began to do the same, lengthening and shifting. The sounds were horrible. Megumi winced, looking ill; Kaoru and Yahiko were not much better off. Even Touya looked disgusted. The others remained impassive as the cavernous nowhere echoed with the sound of snapping bones and redistributing flesh.

"Umm… Should he be able to do that?" Yahiko asked uncertainly, looking away from the growing spectacle before them.

"The problem is, he's still defining himself in the spirit realm. When someone is newly brought here, they have a certain amount of time to define themselves. Some of them go to a certain style of afterlife. Others choose to become demons of varying sorts. Others simply become ghosts, or enter the cycle of rebirth. You'd be surprised how many minor demons have lived as humans – and the other way around. When demons die, they get pretty much the same choices," Koenma added. "It's the more powerful ones you've got to worry about."

"One thing about Shishio," Aoshi said in that odd tone the others had come to recognize as his own in concordance with Chihyou. "He is powerful enough to become one of those about whom you have to worry."

"Which is why we are here to stop him," Chiryuu answered from above them. "Strike while he's weak, soul-sib! Take him in his distraction!"

"That is not this one's way," Kenshin said softly, knowing that the demon would hear.

Kaoru was impressed; she'd never seen Kenshin roll his eyes the way Chiryuu was doing, dragon or not. ~I wonder how different Kenshin is going to be, without… Without the demon inside. Without also being Battousai,~ she wondered briefly before shaking herself back into focus.

Meanwhile the spectre that had been Shishio the man was rapidly reshaping into something not unlike the Blood Demon that had encircled him. It grew larger than the other, its scales shimmering an unhealthy color like burnt flesh. Though it lacked the Blood Demon's wings, the acrid scent of flames wafted from its mouth and nostrils. There was something odd about its tail; the tip was reminiscent of a scorpion's sting.

"Shishiosama," Yumi breathed, Houji's voice only half a step behind as they gazed upon their master with awe.

"Impressive," Chihyou noted with Aoshi's voice. The man's eyes were as wide as the others', however, as he stared up at the spectacle.

"Never thought you'd become a dragonslayer, did you, human?" Touya said, trying to sound as though he were scoffing.

"That was never in this one's plans," Kenshin admitted dryly. His stance had not faltered once, although he was forced to look much higher to meet his opponent's eyes.

Those eyes, still oddly if coldly human in the draconic face, glared down with mocking insolence. "This is almost too easy," the creature snarled. "I could crush you all with one breath."

"I wouldn't be too sure," Kurama said, his own smile cocksure. "We have a few new tricks up our sleeves."

"But you don't have sleeves," Kaoru blurted without thinking.

Kurama spared her half a glance. "All the better to keep tricks in. No one will ever see them coming."

Yahiko gave a bark of startled laughter. "Hey, nice!"

"Don't encourage him!" Megumi snapped, her eyes still locked on the new dragon. She wanted to run, to cry, to scream, and she did not dare. She sneaked a glance at Koenma. He looked about as happy as she felt. "Perhaps you and I should…"

But even as she spoke, the young prince shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Much as I'd love to run off with you," and he somehow turned the phrase into a blend of honest fear and a touch of something lascivious, "I'm needed here." And he tapped the pacifier.

"Because of your pacifier? But aren't you a little old for that?"

"That too," he said, giving her a significant look. She tried to remember if he'd said something about it before, but couldn't.

He certainly wasn't about to do so in front of their opponent. It was bad enough that the spell hadn't had very much time to charge, considering the last time it had been used, and he was doing his utmost to focus as much energy as he could spare into it, but as the dragon grew, his hopes shrank. If that human had enough power to grow so large, they really would have to push hard in order to drain him enough to guarantee the spell's success…

"We won't have long," Aoshi said. "It will take him some time to adapt to the new form, but not as much as I'd like. Chiryuu is right. The time to strike is now."

"And if you don't," Touya added, "We will." There was no threat in his voice, and all there was of it in his eyes was directed at Shishio and his companions.

_~To fight a dragon, think like a dragon.~ _ The thought came unbidden into Kenshin's head – but the voice was familiar.

~Chiryuu?~

_~Yes. It's a shame we can't rebond, for the moment. That would make this easier. The others are right,~ _and Kenshin could hear the disdain in the admission. _~The time to strike must be now. Use Ryuu Sho Sen and aim here.~ _In his mind, Kenshin saw the exact spot the demon meant.

~Ryuu Sho Sen? Why not Kuzu Ryuu Sen? And if that is the weak spot -~

_~Get over it. It won't kill him the first few times you hit him, but that's the best place to hit to bring his head down to disorient him.~_

It seemed a little undignified, but it made perfect sense… The slight redhead disappeared in a flicker of motion, reappearing with his sakabatou upraised.

"Ryuu Sho Sen!" Yahiko breathed, fear and excitement mingling in his tone. "But… there?"

Indeed, the rurouni had struck first and fast with an upward slash – right to the place where the dragon's arm met his body.

"The armpit is a pretty vulnerable place," Kaoru pointed out, no less impressed.

"In a... a beast like that," Megumi agreed, "aiming there would knock it… him… it off balance."

"And if he falls, his head comes into striking range," Yahiko said, nodding his understanding as Shishio faltered and reared up, tottering uncertainly in his new form.

_~And now the lower leg, same side!~_

Following the directions of the Blood Dragon's voice in his head, Kenshin attacked Shishio's hip. Most of his weight was on that limb; it would be an easy takedown.

Except that somehow, Yumi had seen the move coming – or perhaps it was chance – and she stood between him and his target. There was no way to avoid her. 

Dark triumph glowed in her eyes. "Shishiosama was right," she said. The dim, pervasive light seemed to transform her merely human beauty into something otherworldly and dark. "You are so predictable."

Behind her, a scream of outrage caused the bones beneath their feet to rattle and quake. Megumi fell to her knees; the others staggered – some less than the rest. Yumi turned to see a kodachi and a blade of ice piercing the hip of the dragon behind her. She swallowed a scream of her own.

Aoshi retrieved his blade, but the sizable icicle piercing the new dragon's flesh stayed where it was.

"More where that came from," Touya smirked.

"Don't get cocky," hissed a voice above his head. "He may be mortal, but your little toothpick isn't going to make a dent in that much power." Chiryuu's eyes were not on his fellow demon, however, but on their quarry. Despite the flames in his eyes, Chiryuu's energy was that of Blood, not Fire. Though he could handle extreme elements, he could not generate them. Unlike the sea dragons, he could not manipulate water. Shishio seemed to be at home with Fire… to no one's surprise. "To achieve such size, with a mortal soul, shows you'd best not underestimate him."

"He'd easily be a class A," Koenma said thoughtfully. "Might even make it to an S."

"Class A?" Yahiko said, sparing a glance for the little prince.

Kurama cut them off. "Now is not the time for a demonology lesson." He looked less than pleased; the idea that this dead human had power nearly on a par with his own irritated him.

"He must be close to your own power level," Megumi said nervously. "From what you were telling me before…"

"Yes," the Fox Demon hissed snappishly.

"You want to challenge him!" Kaoru realized.

"Are you nuts?" Sanosuke demanded, breaking his silence at last. His thoughts had been consumed with fear for Kenshin above all else; the idea that this interloper demon wanted in on his friend's fight pierced his worries.

"It's a matter of pride," Kurama replied tightly.

Kenshin was attacking endlessly, guided by Chiryuu, but with every attack, Shishio was learning his own new body's abilities, and had begun to dodge and counter.

"Pride," Megumi spat out the word as though it carried a bad taste. "Pride is a very stupid reason to fight."

Kaoru thought better of saying something she might come to regret. "Pride is often the only reason to keep fighting, when all else seems lost," she said instead.

Megumi didn't respond immediately, but at that moment their attention was captured by the battle before them.

Aoshi and Touya had perched on Chiryuu's coils after making their initial – and thus far only attack; the Blood Dragon had curled himself protectively between Kenshin and the others. Sanosuke was also balancing on the demon's body, which had been flattened out just enough to allow Kenshin's friends to see what was going on.

New dragon and human were both showing signs of tiring, however slight. Both were scratched and bleeding; Shishio's injuries would have incapacitated him had he been human. Kenshin was not in much better shape; the memory of the wounds still bourn by his physical body was beginning to take a toll in addition to those inflicted on him by the sharp claws before him.

"Eat him alive, Shishiosama!" Houji cried.

"And give himself indigestion?" Yumi scoffed. "Not likely!" The look Houji leveled on her spoke volumes. She returned his disgust with interest.

It seemed Shishio was taking his follower's suggestion to heart. Faster than he had yet moved in his new form, he snapped up the lithe redhead.

And swallowed.

"KENSHIN!" The agonized scream came from several throats at once.

The sound of a body hitting the bone-pile floor echoed into the ringing silence.

_[AN] Yes, I know I'm not doing Yumi justice here. Worry not. She'll come into her own soon enough._

_Also, cliffhanger. Because I am not always a nice person… And I want you to come back for more! [/AN]_


	9. Chapter 9

**Part VIII: Bloody Hell**

Kaoru's entire body felt numb. Her head was empty of everything but the sight of Kenshin vanishing between the gaping jaws. His face burned itself into her vision, a cross between fearful realization and a grim focus so intense that I burned.

His eyes had looked black. Not violet, not the amber of Chiryuu's influence, but the pure dark emptiness of the void.

Her left hand rested on a skull, two fingers sticking into its eye socket, but she did not notice. A rib shifted under her knee as she tried to comprehend what she had just seen.

An insane scream burst from someone's throat, a high keening wail of anguish, but it barely entered her awareness. She did not even register that it was her own voice. She did not see the way Megumi clung to Kurama, who had put a protective arm around her as he stared calculatingly at the smug dragon. She did not see the way Yahiko started to run towards the towering beast, or the way Sanosuke laid into it with every ounce of his not insignificant being. She did not see Shishio staring down at them with utter disdain in those cold eyes. Nor did she see the way it took both Touya and Aoshi to hold back her student.

"Will someone shut her up?" Houji griped.

Chiryuu alone seemed completely frozen. His blazing eyes bore sightlessly into space, not seeing the spirit-form before him.

But Aoshi did. He stared intently at the Shishio-dragon. Suddenly he sighed. "Koenmasama. Do you see it?"

The prince of the spirit realm stared. Slow realization dawned on his face.

"The—"

Just as Koenma started to speak, Shishio tired of Sanosuke's attacks, seized the tall youth by one arm and flung him away. He bounced twice and skidded farther yet, bones rattling ominously beneath his limp body; nor did he rise.

Megumi started towards him; the arm of the demon around her shoulders did not let go. "Don't."

"But I have to –"

"Don't." The word ground out harshly between his teeth.

"If he's alive, I have to tend his wounds!" With a twist of her shoulders, she should have been able to free herself from his grasp, but it was as though his arm were turned to iron.

"Or die trying?" It was clearly Aoshi who spoke. "No. I know of the promise you made. Your death does not enter into it."

"And Kensan's does?" There was something in Megumi's eyes tha transcended simple desperation. The human in Aoshi wondered about her sanity. "Even Sanosuke deserves better!"

Yahiko tore himself free during Aoshi's distraction – but it was to his teacher's side he went. She had stopped keening and was staring blindly at the bones on which she knelt, her hands barely holding her up. "Megumisan," he said frantically, looking to the doctor. Kaoru was white, and her breath was coming in short little gasps.

"She's going into shock." Aoshi released the doctor, nudging her slightly in Kaoru's direction. "She can be helped without putting yourself on the line."

Touya was accepting something from Kurama. He caught Aoshi's nod, and the two shinobi moved as though they had planned it from the beginning. The Ice Master disappeared.

Aoshi remained in plain sight, stepping up as though to take his turn against Shishio. He had left his trenchcoat with Megumi, who was using it to bundle Kaoru up in an attempt to keep her warm.

"_Nito Kodachi, Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren," _Kurama noted. "Nice." Only Koenma paid attention, although Yahiko glanced up as he recognized the name of one of Aoshi's principle attacks.

"That won't work on me, foolish little human," Shishio said dismissively. Aoshi did not respond, his image flickering weirdly as he circled, his two short blades at the ready.

"I'm no more human than you are," Chihyou said through Aoshi's mouth. "And you know it fully well… Chizasori. The human is dead. His spirit should have been released from your bond."

"Do you think I would have let such power go willingly?" the creature who was not wholly Shishio hissed.

Koenma sighed. "You did it again, didn't you, 'Sasori. You chose a human too strong for you, and have gotten sucked into his machinations. You're too weak."

As though it were a cue, Aoshi's attack unleashed as the last word passed Koenma's lips. Despite the intensity of the power behind it, the crossed lines of blood spurted only briefly.

"Was that supposed to faze me?" Shishio asked. He threw back his head and laughed.

"It's done," Touya said, reappearing on Chiryuu's still-unmoving coils.

"No," Kurama replied, his grin positively vulpine. ~Damn. That much power… This had better work.~ "It was to distract you."

"Distract me?"

"Yes."

"From what?"

"From this."

Kurama knew it was far too soon for the deadly vetch he'd had Touya plant in the wound site to have any effect. He hoped that it would; in the meantime, he needed something else. A frontal attack would get him tossed aside, as Shishio had done to Aoshi. The human host of Chihyou was badly hurt but not unconscious; he staggered back to the dwindling company. Sanosuke still had not moved; Megumi desperately kept her focus on Kaoru.

He held up a small, rather wimpy looking bit of plant and began walking forward.

"Are you trying to make me die laughing?" If Shishio had been contemptuous before, the ridicule in his tone could hardly be misinterpreted.

Seeing the plant, Chiryuu shifted rapidly back to his humanoid form, backing away from the Fox Demon with clear trepidation. He still seemed to be in shock and stumbled, nearly falling to his knees. As soon as those perched on his body realized what was happening, they jumped away.

"This is dragonsbane," Kurama said simply, and continued walking forward.

Shishio shook his massive head. "What an obvious ploy." He snaked the plant away from the apparently startled fox demon with his forked tongue and swallowed it whole.

Kurama blinked, cocked his head, sighed, and said, "Well, that's that I guess." Turning around as though unconcerned, he made his way back towards Megumi and Kaoru, where Yahiko hovered anxiously.

"Sword," Kaoru was whispering. Megumi could only hear a few of her words. "Kenshin… Need sword…"

"Kensan has his sword," she said softly, trying to keep her tone level. Doctors did not fall apart in front of their patients.

"No," Kaoru said, her eyes fixed on the dragon that was Shishio.

"Kaoru, you can't wield a real sword," Yahiko said, trying for his natural flippancy. His tone fell short.

"For Kenshin," she said, slightly more clearly.

"The only one of us who has a real sword is Aoshi," Yahiko said.

"Chihyou, give her one," Koenma said, nodding. He seemed to understand what Kaoru wanted. "It's the only way."

"No," Aoshi replied. "There is another."

All eyes but Kaoru's turned to the slight figure that seemed to be still in shock.

The demon's wings were folded tightly around himself. The flames of his eyes seemed faint, and the Blood Dragon-Demon Chiryuu appeared to be trying to shrink in on himself.

"Enough of this," Houji said snappishly. "Shishiosama, it's better to keep moving. If we can take them unaware –"

"You idiot," Yumi said. "Who do you think that little boy is?"

Houji shrugged. "Maybe that youko's kid. Who cares?"

Yumi glared at him, showing every bit as much disdain as Shishio had for his old enemy. "You idiot," she repeated. "Didn't you hear what they called him? Koenma. He must be Enma's son… Heir to the Spirit Realm."

"No, I hadn't." The man looked at the woman thoughtfully as he processed the information. "He's the key," Houji said, a new plan occurring to him in that moment. "He's clearly not a fighter. If we could take him…" He sank back into thought.

Yumi nodded thoughtfully. "Shishiosama, I think that – Shishiosama?" Her thoughtful pose turned to concern, then alarm as she turned to face the spirit of the man she loved.

He was clutching at the site of his injury. A look of irritated confusion sat oddly on his draconic features as the pain spread. From the open wound, Yumi could see the tendrils of a young plant growing far too rapidly for nature.

"The distraction… So you think a plant can best me?" Shishio sneered and began clawing at his own scales, opening the wound and beginning to pull out the developing branches.

What happened next made very little sense to Yumi. Megumi, too, was unable to understand exactly what happened next.

"Chizasori…?" Chiryuu said at last, still staring uncomprehendingly at Shishio.

~It's working,~ Kurama noticed with relief. ~The plant is spreading faster than he can remove it… Now Koenma can cast his spell and I can go home.~

Kaoru pushed past him, the shock having given way to a cold determination that was as unlike her previous state as Chiryuu's current state was foreign to him. She had thrown off the coat and Megumi's ministrations and took the gleaming katana from the unresisting demon's scabbard.

"What are you doing?" Yahiko demanded, watching his sensei hefting the heavy blade. Indeed, she wielded it awkwardly, though her step was surprisingly sure as she raced toward the looming figure across the bones.

The only thing that saved her was Shishio's distraction with his growing inability to move, and the need to remove the branches before he locked up completely. As it stood, the deadly vetch was still spreading throughout the massive body, only slowed slightly by the effort to remove it. It was beginning to spread into his upper limbs as he tore. Yumi and Houji were attempting to help, but their strength was inadequate to the task.

Kaoru aimed lower than Kenshin had, aiming for the underbelly of the great beast.

"Jouchan, don't!" Sanosuke had at last regained consciousness; he raised his head just in time to see her raise the sharp blade and drag it along Shishio's stomach. Her hit connected and left a long scoremark in the softer scales but did not pierce them completely. "Jouchan!"

"Is she trying to help him or hurt him?" Yumi wondered as she watched Kaoru's effort before returning to assist her lord.

But Koenma knew. "Hyou! Give Kurama one of your kodachi. Both of you help her!" The pacifier seemed to be glowing and the little prince, who had resumed his younger form, looked rather tired; he tugged on Megumi's sleeve and held up his arms, silently imploring her to hold him. She complied without thinking about it, and he cuddled up close to her, planting his head firmly on her breast. Although she echoed the sentiment, the beginnings of shocked outrage colored her expression at the _way_ he cuddled up close.

He was saved from her incipient wrath, however, by Aoshi's compliance with his instructions. He had tossed one of the short-bladed swords to the silver Fox Demon, and the two were running forward to assist Kaoru's blind assault on the now-thrashing Shishio.

"What are they – they'll all be killed!" Megumi blurted, coming close to panic. Unconsciously, she clutched the little prince closer. Had she seen his expression, she would not have been amused; his eyes reflected equal parts of pleasure and panic. The latter was both for the heavy battle going on and for his burgeoning inability to breathe.

"No – they're going to cut him out!" Yahiko's eyes lit with a fierce expression between determination and joy. His hands tightened on his bokken as he began to look around for another blade.

Touya had made his way to Sanosuke's side and was helping the tall youth to rise, bringing him back to the doctor's side for the medical attention he desperately needed.

Kurama and Aoshi reached Kaoru at nearly the same moment, standing on either side of her and hacking away at the heaving scales of Shishio's exposed side. The beast was wider than they were tall; finding the target was easy. Finding the same target repeatedly was harder, especially considering the way Shishio thrashed in pain. Additionally, it seemed that the section they attacked seemed to be trying to attack back, heaving outwards in a grotesque response to their attentions.

Perhaps by chance, Kaoru had chosen a position that kept them from being noticed by Shishio's still-human companions. Yumi and Houji were both screaming, mostly yelling frantic directions at one another as they tried valiantly to pull the spreading demon weed from their beloved leader. They were drowned out completely by the thrashing, roaring dragon, whose anger was becoming more apparent with every futile tug. His upper limbs were still responding to his will but slowly; it was becoming more and more difficult for him to remove the plant, although had Kurama been paying strict attention, he might have noticed that even the vicious vetch was slowing down, unable to cope with the sheer immensity of the Spirit Plane body the former human had created for himself.

Shishio kept tearing at it, his roars of rage and pain incoherent.

When Touya appeared, balancing precariously on top of his heaving bulk and materializing an ice blade in order to assist in the assault on the belly of the beast, Yumi noticed. Already feeling the futility of her attack on the weed spreading itself throughout Shishio's body, she screamed anew, a twisting cry of incomprehensible emotion. If despair had an angry, vicious twin, it possessed the former courtesan in that moment. She grabbed Houji's arm and directed his attention to the scene they'd missed.

"Shishiosama!" His hoarse cry carried only marginally better than had her own. Thoughtlessly, they rushed headlong towards the armed trio. Kurama whirled to face them.

His silver hair flowed around his face, whipped by the winds created by the fire dragon thrashing behind him. Raising his bloodied sword, he stared at them.

"You shall not pass."

They did not heed his warning, instead running straight at him.

A great tear sounded as three blades – no, four – tore through the tough hide at last and an ichor-coated figure collapsed through the hole.

"I tried to warn you," Kurama said with a heavy sigh that conveyed no regret whatsoever. With a smile he raised the blade.

"No! No killing!" Kenshin gasped out, falling to his knees.

"KENSHIN!" Heedless of his condition, Kaoru tossed aside the blade she had appropriated from the still-catatonic Chiryuu and moved to him.

Only two paces stood between them. Two little paces. She took one step, another, moving as quickly as she could.

It was not quick enough. Shishio, feeling the way the spreading lethargy had slowed, had mustered enough strength (if not control) to flail at his assailants. His blow caught her in the back. She went flying.

~I can't move. I can't -~ Kenshin's thoughts failed him as the world threatened to go dark. Something moved, flickering at the edge of his narrowing vision.

Two voices cried out as one. One was the hoarse croak of a man at the end of his strength; the other, the sibilant scream of a demonic dragon given something not unlike human flesh.

"KAORU!"

_[AN] No, I am not systematically trying to kill everyone off. Stop arguing and go read the next chapter. [/AN]_


	10. Chapter 10

**Part IX: The Light at the End**

Kurama swept up the slight swordsman's unconscious form as the last of Kenshin's strength left him. Chiryuu, frozen before, was not even a blur of motion.

Kaoru's body was stopped by an implacable force as the demon caught her as gently as he could. He whirled, clutching her close, his eyes a mad whirl of molten emotions.

"Are you all right?" he whispered.

Completely overwhelmed, Kaoru nodded her head slowly. Fighting off the shock that had already conquered her once before, she wasn't quite ready to stand on her own. The pain had not yet sunk in.

Perhaps Chiryuu sensed that, or perhaps there was another reason he held her so protectively close.

Megumi nodded her thanks to Kurama as she bent to attend to Kenshin; he had taken rather a beating in Shishio's throat after the several wounds acquired during their battle. "There are no fractures, although he'll be rather bruised. Later, I am going to wonder how injuries to the spiritual body affect the physical," she added as an aside to Koenma as she worked, binding the wounds which had largely ceased bleeding. "For now, Kensan just needs to rest." She smoothed the hair away from his face in an unconsciously tender gesture.

Kurama made a small noise towards the back of his throat; his eyes were unreadable and his face utterly without expression.

"What are you –" Megumi looked up in annoyance but cut herself off, seeing where the demon was looking.

"Koenma." Kurama tried again, succeeding in saying his name without moving his mouth. The pudgy prince looked up and followed Kurama's expressionless gaze.

"Oh crap."

Shishio had begun to heat up. His scales gleamed like embers coming back to life, and bits of plant were starting to wither up and fall away.

"He's figured out the deadly vetch's weakness."

"What about the dragonbane?" Megumi whispered back.

Kurama's headshake was nearly imperceptible. "That tiny sprig didn't affect him for nearly as long as I'd like."

"What about your spell?" Sanosuke asked, his eyes on Koenma. His head dropped back to the skulls with a dull thud.

Koenma shook his head slowly. "It's not enough. I don't have enough energy left to power it the rest of the way."

Yahiko looked at the glowing, grinning dragon before them. "Take mine."

"You would do that?" Koenma was startled.

Yahiko nodded.

"You know the risks, including dying, getting trapped in the spell, or at least in the spirit rea—"

"I know the risks. If it's the only way I can do anything, I wanna do it," Yahiko said firmly.

"Yahiko! No! I won't allow you –"

"SHUT UP!" Yahiko's yell cut off Kaoru's protest. "Shut up already! I know I'm young, but I'm not a dumb kid. I know what's at stake. So far all I've done is sit around and feel useless. One thing I've got is energy, so shut up and let me do this if I can!"

Kaoru stared at her apprentice, shocked once again. "Yahiko…" She looked proud and sad. "You're right. I won't stop you." But she turned away, not wanting him to see the tears that were forming. Chiryuu, who still held her, patted her shoulder somewhat awkwardly.

"Ahh, don't cry, ugly. It'll be okay." Yahiko turned back to Koenma. "Let's do this."

A roar split the air, this one sounding more victorious. Sanosuke's eyes opened again as he saw what the others did.

Yumi and Houji had backed away from Shishio, whose scales now burned with the flames he called like his own aura. The last bits of vetch drifted into ash and he turned his attention back to the group before him.

"Kaoru, give me back my sword."

"I can't…"

Chiryuu started to reply, then saw the bright gleam of steel reflecting flame. His katana lay on the bones near Shishio's hind leg, where it had fallen when Kaoru was thrown. He cursed, not softly.

"Finding yourselves a little outmatched, hmm?" Shishio made no attempt to hide the cruel pleasure he took at the apparent odds.

"Stay here," Chiryuu whispered to Kaoru. She nodded and he released her; to her own surprise, she remained standing.

In a flash he was gone.

"Chiryuu!" Aoshi called out, his eyes flashing angrily. "That idiot!"

"Oh no," Touya groaned as he too realized what was about to happen.

"Him and that damn temper of his."

"And his ego," Touya added.

Aoshi snorted.

Chiryuu reappeared, snatching up the katana. Wings spread fully, he whirled, then leapt. Airborne, he aimed for Shishio's eyes. "Ryuu Kan Sen!"

On land, the movement was fast, graceful, and deadly. In the air, however, it took on a whole new life. Instead of merely twisting his body, he spun in a tight roll, a blood-red arrow whose point was death incarnate. He moved almost too fast for his own wings, keeping them tight against himself as his sword pierced the lid just above Shishio's eye. It went more than halfway to the hilt before he snapped his wings out and pulled back.

"Hey, Prince Koenma, I don't suppose you could get me some wings if this backfires, huh?" Yahiko said, watching in awe. Shishio's scream drowned out the response.

"He's already taken a beating," Aoshi pointed out, "but there's not much time."

Koenma nodded. "Yahikosan, are you ready?"

The scrawny kid pulled himself up, lit from within by pride. ~He called me –san!~

"You called him –san. You've got a friend for life," Sanosuke noted dryly. Yahiko masterfully ignored him; Koenma was already not paying attention to anyone but the youth before him and the raging dragon.

Mighty wingbeats rattled the bone ground as Chiryuu dodged Shishio's snarling attacks – and prepared one more of his own. "Kuzu Ryu Sen!"

Inordinately fast as Kenshin had been, Chiryuu had two advantages in a fight with Shishio over his human host. Flight was the first. It added to his agility and speed.

The second was far simpler: Chiryuu had every intention of killing Shishio. Kenshin had been constrained by his oath; Chiryuu had no such qualms. The Blood Demon wanted Shishio dead and would not hold back in his efforts to achieve that end. Unfortunately, Shishio's strength was such that even a critical wound would take time to kill him.

As far as Koenma was concerned, however, that was a good thing. He had to trust in Chiryuu's ability to distract the former human, to keep him occupied and further drain his resources as much as possible. He had to count on Chiryuu's unmistakable rage over Shishio's treatment of Kenshin and of Kaoru. He did not question it. And there was one more task that had to be accomplished. He beckoned to Touya once again.

In midair, the attack could cover a much broader area, if need be – and Chiryuu's humanoid limbs were not human. They were somewhat longer than a human's would be, and to his own surprise, every strike of the nine-targeted attack landed.

"Fight me in your true form," Shishio hissed. "Fight me dragon to dragon." The flames flared up around him and he directed a blast at Chiryuu's hovering form. Chiryuu dodged it incompletely; his left leg was hit. He would have trouble when he landed.

Meanwhile, Koenma assumed his human-plane form once more, a youth around Yahiko's age.

"Close your eyes."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I've got to set up a link between us so I can use your energy to help power the spell. It might hurt a little. It's definitely going to feel like someone's draining you."

"Well, isn't that what's happening?"

Koenma nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry to do this."

It was Yahiko who shook his head. "Nah, I volunteered. If it's gonna help Kenshin…" He shrugged.

Koenma nodded again. "Close your eyes. You might want to lie down for a bit."

Yahiko eyed the boney floor warily, sighed in resignation, and settled himself as comfortably as he could. He had deliberately chosen to lie near Kenshin's unconscious form and Sanosuke's barely conscious one. "Now what?" he asked, closing his eyes.

For answer, Koenma knelt next to him, one hand on Yahiko's chest over his heart, the other cupped around the pacifier he had yet to relinquish. A glow began at his hands and slowly started to spread, encompassing them both.

"For the light of my soul: Ama Kakeru Ryuu no Hirameki!" A blast of fire was diminished by its own reflection in the gleaming blade as Chiryuu vanished from sight in a silent explosion of light and power, taking Shishio's head and a good portion of his body with him. The light took some time to clear.

The softer glow that surrounded Yahiko and Koenma seemed to pulse as it grew, its focus intensifying around the seemingly innocuous pacifier between the prince's lips. Yahiko seemed to shrink in on himself slightly, as though utterly exhausted. Megumi made an abortive movement to stop them; she had heard him accept the risks involved. She and Kaoru found themselves holding hands tightly, each filled with fear for the young boy.

Koenma pulled away from Yahiko at last, the glow around the pacifier nearly as intense as that which still faded away from Shishio and Chiryuu.

The dragon-demon had landed, crouched awkwardly. He seemed to be in pain; Shishio's attacks had not all been avoided. Similarly, the flaming dragon was listing to one side, blood streaming down his scales and damping their flames. Both let out feral roars. Chiryuu seemed to be having trouble holding onto his demon-form.

Shishio seemed to be only in slightly better shape; he was battered and swaying with pain; though the deadly vetch had been burned out of his draconic body, the damage it had done was not. Similarly, Chiryuu's attacks had landed, but his much smaller form packed less of a punch.

Koenma's soft voice was drowned out completely. Before long, his entire slight figure was enveloped in a pulsing, throbbing light.

"Out of the way!" Touya yelled, having reappeared next to Aoshi even as they backed as far from Koenma as they could, Kurama with them.

Chiryuu staggered, nearly spent. Spreading his wings one more time, he flew swiftly but unsteadily toward his companions, collapsing next to Kenshin, at the feet of both women.

Shishio roared and started after him, but the smaller demon was still too fast. He collapsed just as the white glow around Koenma shot forth tendrils of light that seemed to _seek_ and _hunger_ for something he radiated.

**"MAA FUU KAN!"**

The light exploded forth from Koenma's hands and barreled toward Shishio. They caught him up, almost hiding the little shape of the ring which formed its source, buried in the seared wound to his chest. The light throbbed, binding his limbs to his body, wrapping him into a sphere of shifting color and something that could only be described as emptiness. The light faded as the surface smoothed to a murky iridescence. Slowly, as the conscious members of each party looked around, the underworld came back into focus.

_[AN] Yahiko is just awesome. _

_True confession time: while describing Shishio's condition just before Koenma cast the spell, I kept having to resist the urge to write, "he was battered, fried, and dipped in lemon juice." Him and his whole "food for the strong" nonsense… [/AN]_


	11. Chapter 11

**Part X: Requiem**

Like that, he was gone.

Not completely, of course; the shifting, hazy sphere of the spell was impossible to miss even in the barren bone wasteland.

Koenma sighed, back once more in his smaller form. He looked thoroughly drained; the pacifier had already been returned to his mouth. "Well, that's that then."

Kenshin and Yahiko remained unconscious; the others all looked at the prince with varying levels of incredulity.

"How can you be so calm?" Sano asked weakly. He tried to sit up; Megumi pushed him back down. She had moved to sit between him and Yahiko, monitoring Kenshin's breathing as well.

With a shrug Koenma studied the swirling mass of confusion that was the sealing spell.

"Chizasori was still bonded to him…" Aoshi, who still shared his body with Chihyou, seemed to be in shock.

"He was a weakling anyway," Chiryuu said, no less stunned, but snarkier.

"None of us has ever died before."

"He's not dead."

"May as well be," Chihyou said.

"Are you going to stay here?" Chiryuu asked, after a long moment.

Aoshi shook his head. "No. This bond is a good one. Necessary. So long as I can hunt that which I need to hunt…" He did not finish the sentence; Chiryuu nodded.

None of them spoke for many more minutes.

"Put me in there with him." Yumi, pale with shock, spoke barely above a whisper.

The small figure turned to the woman's ghost. "Yumisan, you have a choice. You have a chance at paradise."

The gaze she turned on him was unforgiving. "There is no paradise without my love." Though her emotions seethed close to the surface, her voice was surprisingly calm. "Send me away with him. Lock me in that spell too."

Koenma sighed. "I can't do that." He studied her face carefully.

Calm grief gave way to frenzied fury. "Do it!" she all but shrieked. "Why won't you do it?"

Koenma shook his head. "No, I mean I really can't do it. That spell is sealed. There's no way to undo the seal at all." He was surprised to find that he felt sorry for her.

"Then destroy me," Yumi said, her trembling anguish as quickly becoming a serene sort of pride. "Destroy me, or I will find a way to make your existence as much a living hell as mine is now."

Again, Koenma shook his head. "I really can't do that." He held up one pudgy hand, his intent expression at odds with his young face. "We could bump you up to your next life…"

"If I am reborn, I won't remember anything from this existence, will I?" Her tone was more thoughtful, though her voice was tight as though she choked the words past a knot of pain. At Koenma's nod, she nodded in return. "Then do it."

Koenma signaled, and Ayame appeared. Balanced delicately on her oar, her black hair bound in a knot at the back of her neck, she looked tired. "Yes, Koenmasama?"

"Please escort Yumisan to have her memories wiped. She'll be going to the rebirthing chambers from there," he added as the messenger began to look upset. The ferrywoman nodded and assisted Yumi onto her oar.

"What about me?" Houji stepped forward. "I would have gone with Shishiosama too."

"You don't have a chance at Paradise," Koenma said, and there was definitely a note of sadness in his young voice. "What Yumisan did, she did for love. It may have been a strange love, and a twisted man, but her heart was surprisingly pure. She died sacrificing herself willingly for love. That goes a long way towards redemption.

"You, on the other hand, were much more coldblooded in life. Even in death, you showed no regard for others. Your slavish devotion to Shishio and his cause came from self-interest." He turned away in distaste. "Kurama, would you do what needs to be done?"

"I think I can handle that," Kurama replied. "Come, little human. I will be your escort. The trip won't take long," he said, and on the word "trip" he knocked Houji's feet out from beneath him and swept him up over one broad shoulder. "You belong to L-sama now."

"L-sama?" Yahiko asked.

"The Lord of Nightmares," Touya answered, his tone subdued. "Has Kurama…?"

"No," Koenma said. "L-sama is her own, and no one belongs to her. I've heard that there are those who use magic to call on her, but I think they're idiots."

They all watched in silence as Kurama bore the struggling figure closer to the portal.

"I suppose you'd like some dramatic last words, or some such," the Fox demon said.

"Shishiosama's dream will li-" Houji's impassioned speech didn't get very far before he was pitched unceremoniously past the gate. His voice quickly rose to a high, unending shriek of fear and pain that faded mercifully quickly, as far as those outside could tell. There was a flash of something dark, evil, and incomprehensibly powerful.

Kurama had turned away, shielding his face, but the force of the thing's passage had created a vacuum and he was being dragged toward the entrance.

"Kuramasan!" Megumi's cry pierced the air. He was too far; there was nothing any of them could do.

Ayame cried out; she had not yet escorted Yumi away as the woman had insisted on waiting for Houji's sentence to be carried out, but now she was knocked to the ground as the oar flashed out in a straight line for the entrance and the ensnared Fox Demon.

"Yumisan!" This time it was Kaoru who screamed the woman's name into the emptiness.

They could only watch in horror.

Time seemed to slow down as Kurama fought the pulling force. Yumi, in complete control of the long wooden shaft, arced towards him, fierce determination in her eyes.

She was closing in, but the distance was great. The force was weakening, but it was clear that he would reach the entrance before it died down – and not so clear if she would.

"What does she think she can do?" Touya wondered.

Chiryuu hissed at him, excitement in his eyes. "Let the Fox go," he said with joyous malice.

No one spared him a glance as the tableau played out.

Suddenly Yumi was between the demon and the portal – and she swung the oar around to block the middle of the doorway.

"HANG ON!" Her scream barely reached the ears of the Youko inches from her, but he seized the oar.

"Hang on to me!" he yelled back.

"This… is for Shishiosama," she said to him with a smile he did not care to fathom.

She let go, and disappeared into the darkness.

A heartbeat later, silence fell and the sucking force faded to that of a strong wind, rapidly dying.

Kurama hefted the oar, with evident difficulty despite his impressive strength, and looked at it thoughtfully. Had the others been able to see his eyes, they would have seen the troubled expression that he quickly mastered. By the time he approached the group, he wore none at all.

Ayame took it from him gingerly, without effort, and perched upon it. She seemed nervous about it, however, and kept circling the collected humans and demons in tight movements as though to make sure it was still functional. All of them stared into the dark hole long after the last of the wind had subsided, none of them speaking; they closed in together as though to comfort each other, none quite touching.

"But… Why? Why would she do that?" Yahiko's voice cut through the heavy silence at last.

"If she cannot relieve his suffering, she would suffer with him." Megumi's voice was soft.

"So saving Kurama was an accident?"

"No. It was punishment," the Fox demon said. "You don't need me here anymore," he said to Koenma, and they could tell it was not a question.

The little prince shook his head. "Go."

"Punishment?" Sanosuke asked.

"Because I didn't rip her soul apart. Problem is, in order for it to be punishment, I'd have to care," Kurama said with a dark smile and a shrug. "Sadly for her… I just don't."

"Kuramasan!" Megumi took a single step towards the silvery figure as he turned away. "Do you really expect us to believe that?"

He shrugged. "I should hope you, at least, wouldn't be stupid enough to delude yourself about such an obvious thing."

"Then why do you have such a large collection of those things that heal?"

"Medicine is a double-sided coin, doctor. But then, you should know that better than anyone." And with that, the Youko Kurama brought out his vegetative wings and was gone in a moment.

Megumi stood rigidly, her back to the others. Sanosuke found himself backing away, Yahiko at his side. Even Kaoru took a step back.

Kenshin and Aoshi were the only ones not to do so, in fact; even the demons were edging away from the unmoving doctor.

"Megumidono?"

There was no response.

"Are you all right?"

When the doctor still didn't answer, Kenshin sent a troubled glance back toward the others as he moved around to look at Megumi's face. Unsure what to expect, he was surprised by what he saw.

Utter calm.

There were hints of resignation, sadness, and a trace of anger, but there was also a touch of slightly bitter amusement. They were mere accents around the corners of her eyes, however; she stared into the distance in the direction the demon had departed with a philosophical quirk to her mouth.

"Megumidono?" 

"If he doesn't care, why should I?"

"Oro?"

"He's right. Healing and hurting are sides of a coin. So, while he doesn't care out of callousness, I will not care out of kindness."

"Now you're confusing all of us, Megumisan," Kaoru ventured.

"We've done what we came to do. I'm not going to regret the loss of those who already accepted their defeat and surrendered to the darkness at the end. I'm going to care for those who can benefit from my healing."

"Well, it's about damn time," Sanosuke said after a shocked moment. "So… Wouldja take a look at my hand now?"

The glare Megumi shot him made the others all laugh; things would go back to normal.

Just as soon as they got home.

Where a long recuperation awaited them all.

.:|:.

He watched as they were put under, as their memories were wiped of their experiences in the spirit realm. He followed them as they were carried to the Transition Chamber and the preparations were made to restore them to their own unconscious bodies. Still he stood, watching the slumbering humans borne through the portal. He kept his wings furled tightly around himself, affecting a nonchalant expression.

"You little liar," Kurama said with something like admiration in his tone. "I think I would be proud of you, if I cared enough."

"Youko. What do you want," Chiryuu spat, startled. His wings half-spread as though of their own accord. He had not known that the other was there.

"Your little speech when you first returned. I heard about it." He adopted the sibilant hiss of Chiryuu's voice, his tone condescending. "'I do not understand this _love_ that humans have for one another. One such as I can only understand death, and desire, and destruction. But then, it is for Himura Kenshin to understand love, and not the likes of me.' We're nearly of an age. You're hundreds of years old, not a puling adolescent. Did you think you had anyone fooled with your little performance back there? You fell in love with that little girl during your bonded years. I mean, seriously? 'For the light of my soul.' Did you believe we would think you meant the human you bonded with for a mere handful of years?"

"Do not trifle with what you do not understand," the Blood Dragon growled, his flame eyes narrowed.

The mockery was gone in an instant from the silvery figure's face. "It is you who does not understand."

"Nor do I care to."

"Nor do I," Kurama responded as harshly. Together, they stood apart in silence, glaring at the place the portal had been.

"So, the doctor, huh?"

Kurama glared for a moment, then sighed. "Not her."

Chiryuu's eyes narrowed.

"She reminded me of someone," the Fox Demon admitted with great reluctance. The name he uttered was not even a whisper on his lips. "Kuzu..." He closed his eyes for a moment; when he opened them again, his expression was once more blank.

The Blood Dragon grunted. "There will be others, in time."

"No," Kurama said softly, simply. "Never again."

Chiryuu eyed his companion briefly. "That sounds like an oath."

"Yes," Kurama replied. "It does."

.:|Owari…?|:.

_[AN] This got to be QUITE a bit longer than I originally intended. Also I was supposed to be writing more in the way of actual fighting. Oh, well! Hope you liked it anyway. _

_And yes, I realize that Houji did not die immediately after Shishio; keep in mind that we never do learn exactly when he dies, save that it takes place while Kenshin is still recuperating. And while the encounter takes place within the allotted two days, it's already several days after the incident when the Kenshingumi descend into the Spirit Realm… So I used a my poetic license to play a little loosely with the timing._

_Anyway, for your convenience, in case you care, I have compiled a list of all of the Blood Demons, in chronological order of first relevant appearance on the Human Plane:_

_Chiryuu (Dragon, possessed Hiko Seijuurou I, Himura Kenshin*)_

_Chishachi (Orca, possessed Hiko Seijuurou II)_

_Chiorochi (Great Serpent, possessed Hiko Seijuurou III) _

_Chihyou (Panther, possessed Hiko Seijuurou IV, Shinomori Aoshi*)_

_Chioutori (Phoenix, possessed Hiko Seijuurou V, Myoujin Yahiko*)_

_Chigitsune (Fox [female], possessed Hiko Seijuurou VI... and once known in the human world as Kuzu-no-ha)_

_Chiokami (Wolf, possessed Hiko Seijuurou VII, Saitou Hajime) _

_Chizame (Shark, possessed Hiko Seijuurou VIII, Seta Soujirou*)_

_Chigame (Tortoise, possessed Hiko Seijuurou IX)_

_Chikuma (Bear, possessed Hiko Seijuurou X)_

_Chiwashi (Eagle, possessed Hiko Seijuurou XI) _

_Chizasori (Scorpion, possessed Hiko Seijuurou XII, Shishio Makoto**)_

_Chitora (Tiger, possessing Hiko Seijuurou XIII)_

_(Those humans marked with an asterisk (*) were able through varying means to separate themselves from the possessing demon prior to death.)_ [/AN]


End file.
